Together in War
by Potato Crosser
Summary: [Human/soldier au] GerIta. Feliciano is a friendly fruit sales man in Milano who lives with his brother Lovino. He meets a German foreigner who catches his attention and starts developing unexpected feelings. But soon they are forced to join the military and it gets worse when they learn that they have to prepare for war.
1. The Foreigner

**A/N: Hello everyone. Just wanted to say that I really hope you enjoy the story. It contains attempted suicide. If anyone is offended by it, message me and I'll delete that part of the story. Attempting to make my writing skills better with this story. Also inner thoughts are in italics. Enjoy it!**

* * *

"Come and buy some delicious, juicy fruits here." A voice echoed throughout the marketplace.

The Italian town was, as always filled with laughter, singing and odd bits of chit chat. People were so friendly here and always included everyone so nobody felt left out. The sinking of the evening sun bathed the small town in an ambient glow, blending in with the echoes of laughter scattered through the crowds.

"Come on, you know you want these fruits. They are at half price now." The fruit salesman smiled, wiping the sweat off his brow. Italian summers were sometimes unbearably hot.

* * *

His face lightened up, as he saw a few more people lining up at his stall. He gave the satisfied customers their fruit in exchange for the money whilst smiling and winking at them. The marketplace seemed unusually desolate today, but at least he made some sales. Seeing all those happy customers gave him a warm feeling inside.

His hazel eyes stared at the blend of red, orange and pink illuminating the sky. The sunset sure was beautiful this evening, closing his eyes. He lost himself as a light, refreshing breeze caressed his face, flowing through his auburn hair. He took off his apron and decided it'll be best to pack up for the evening. Almost every day in the afternoon he set up his stall to sell fruits for a living, often going into the bar afterwards to relax. He took some fruits with him and packed them in a bag to take back home.

* * *

In the bar, there weren't that many people there, just a few scattered over the place, but in that small assembly a familiar face caught his eye.

"Lovino, didn't expect to see you here." He smiled to the darker haired man, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Feliciano, hey, take a seat." He slurred, patting at the red velvet stool next to himself. Feliciano just scoffed, sitting down next to him, his brother obviously had way too much to drink.

"How did the sales go?" Lovino asked, but was greeted by a sad face of Feliciano.

"Well..not that good, but I'm sure we'll do better next week, huh?" Feliciano winked, his face once again brightening.

"I hope so, this is why I never got into that stupid business." Lovino said, shaking his head.

"But it's so fun, all the happy customers, you get to meet new people too."

Lovino just rolled his eyes, Feliciano was always the "people" type, he always got along well with pretty much anyone.

"Ok, ok, I'm going back home." Lovino stated, almost stumbling out of his seat.

"I'll walk you home."

"I'll be fine."

Feliciano ignored him, leaving his stool and tried to steady him.

"I told you, I'm fine." He retorted to Feliciano's action, staggering about.

He walked Lovino back home, trying to hold against his struggling.

The warm night, the moonlight hitting on the ground and the stars twinkled. Feliciano raised his head to the sky, smiling at the beautiful stars.

"Hey Lovino? Do you ever wonder how small we are compared to the rest of the universe?" Feliciano asked, still gazing up with the chocolate eyes of his at the stars.

"Not this again." Lovino managed to say.

"But it's true, we are grains of sand compared to the universe." Feliciano commented.

"You didn't have to carry me back home, I'm fine." Lovino said, struggling away from his grip.

"If you say so then."

They finally arrived back home, the door of the small cottage flew open as Feliciano dragged his drunk brother into the nearest bed.

"My my, be careful next time with how much you drink." he said to his worn out brother.

"Ah, shut up, I want a glass of water and sleep."

"Ok, ok, I'll get you one, you rest there." Feliciano soothed, rushing to the kitchen.

He opened the bedroom door to find that Lovino had already fallen asleep; he left the water on the side and headed to bed himself.

But Lovino was wide awake, worried sick about certain circumstances.

He gently lifted his torso from the bed, gripping at his head, reaching for the water which was placed.

His heart was in his throat and his chest felt as though a sledgehammer had hit it and his body was soaked in sweat.

'It must have been the alcohol.' Lovino thought to himself whilst taking a gulp of water, his mouth was as dry as sat up, not knowing what to do, his heart pounded in his ears.

_'Gah, I'm overthinking.'_

He laid back down, frustrated at his mind for playing such tricks on him. It was obvious something was bothering him; nagging at the back of his head for so long, but he knew he must face the reality of it. But he finally lost the battle to stay awake as his eyes grew heavier and heavier.

* * *

"Good morning." Feliciano flashed a smile to his hungover brother, who stumbled into the kitchen gripping his head.

"Good morning, Feli." Lovino replied in a deep voice, looking rather rough.

Feliciano stared at him for a second, a little worried at how his light green eyes were fixed on the floor.

"Everything ok?" Feliciano asked, in a worried tone, a pit forming in his stomach.

"Hmm, yeah."

A tiny voice echoed in Feliciano's head, something screaming in his heart that something was wrong.

"You can always talk to me you know." Feliciano comforted, his lips curving into a small smile.

All he could hear was Lovino sigh like he wanted to release those feelings and ever since his Grandpa died. He had held them in for so long.

He took a deep sigh and started to explain the situation.

"Well, ever since Grandpa died, I've been thinking a lot about him and it just upsets me. I miss him a lot and I'm sure you do too."

Lovino felt himself being pulled into a hug.

"I do miss him, but I know he would not like us to be upset." Feliciano soothed.

"That's not all." He continued. "It's just that when I'm 18, I'll get forced to attend the military, it's obligatory. I just get worried on how you'll cope here on your own."

"But, but." It took a while for everything to process into Feliciano's brain. "That's in a weeks time."

"Yes." Lovino stared down at the floor, as he tried to find the right words for this situation.

"I'll be fine, just do your bit, ok? Trust me." Feliciano smiled optimistically.

"But.." He continued, gripping at his trousers, still looking down. "You know you'll have to do it too, right?"

"Yes, I am aware of that." But Feliciano kept his smile, he always smiled through any situation.

"They'll tear you apart, someone as sensitive as you."

"I'll be fine, it's not yet though anyway." Feliciano comforted "Let's just have some breakfast ok?"

Lovino took a pause, his eyes still fixed on the floor. He then finally nodded.

Much to Feliciano's relief, Lovino relaxed a little throughout the morning hours, until it was time to go back to the market.

"Will you be ok?" Feliciano asked, a little concerned for his distressed brother.

"I'll be fine, I've got distractions."

He got his apron and felt a flutter of excitement, he loved going back there, seeing the crowds and meeting new people. But this time felt different.

* * *

Feliciano walked happily towards the marketplace, carrying a little trailer full of fruits. He was feeling really optimistic that today would be a good day for sales, humming to himself almost wanting to skip.

The marketplace wasn't crowded or filled with the same amount of noise as yesterday, but Feliciano tried his luck. It was still too early anyway.

He sighed and started unloading and placing the fruits neatly on the stall and breathed in the fresh air. Today seemed different for some reason, but he shook that feeling off, thinking it was part of his imagination.

"Get your fruits here." The familiar voice of the marketplace once again echoed through the area.

* * *

Soon, customers started filling in the market and Feliciano was busy as ever, scrambling on his feet. Walking to and fro and collecting the fruits people wanted from the stand.

He stopped for a break for a while, sipping on a bottle of water, quenching his desperate thirst, his spirits lifted up. He hasn't been that busy in a while and there still is hope of not losing his business.

* * *

Not long after his break, he had another customer. He edged forward to serve him. But this particular gentleman caught his eye. He was more stern looking, like it was permanently etched onto his face.

He stared long and hard at the stranger, poking his eyes around and examining him.

'He certainly isn't from around here.' Feliciano thought to himself, his eyes widened when the man opened his mouth to speak.

"Hello? I heard you sell fruits here."

"Oh can speak english? That's an interesting accent. Where are you from?" Feliciano smiled happily at the stranger.

"Oh, sure I'll have some apples please, well I come from Germany." The stranger said, almost like he had recited it.

"Nice, I've always wanted to go there myself, the scenery seems so beautiful." Feliciano packed some apples into a bag.

"Hmm, not as nice as here, it always seems so cheerful and bright." The man smiled which spread to his glistening blue eyes.

Feliciano seemed to forget what he was doing and just got lost into those eyes; they seemed breathtaking.

He snapped out of it and gave the man the fruit in exchange for money.

"Thank you, sir it was nice talking to you." Feliciano beamed.

"And you too, I guess I'll be back here tomorrow." And with that, he stepped away, leaving a sighing Feliciano, who almost collapsed onto the chair.

"What was that about?" He mumbled to himself.

* * *

The sales were going much better, as Feliciano expected. Time flowed so quickly, before he knew it, it was time to pack up and head to the bar.

He was absolutely ecstatic with the amount of sales he had processed. He and Lovino would certainly be eating well tonight.

He took off his apron and packed everything away, as like every other day and walked towards the bar. The events of yesterday played through his head over and over infact it was bothering him all day, just projecting in his thoughts. He couldn't bear to see Lovino that unhappy. The emotions of that thought which had been gnawing at the back of his head was building up. Tears flooded his eyes, he could barely see which way he was going, it was all a blur. He decided to let the tears silently flow down his cheeks and entered the bar.

* * *

The bar area had a little band playing away in the corner and the sound of chit chat mixed into the gentle classical music. He almost forgot the thoughts crowding his mind.

He sat and ordered a glass of red wine, relaxing at the music and closing his eyes, it certainly was enjoyable. Feliciano reopened his eyes to see something that caught his attention. He stared for a moment to check that he wasn't imagining things. It was that person from earlier, the one Feliciano's eyes got lost his sturdy posture and slicked back blonde hair, gripping a beer in one hand and chatting with some local people. His deep thick accented voice stood out from the crowd who were talking to him. Feliciano was intrigued by this man, he had never met a foreigner from Germany before, he wanted to know everything. Feliciano was the curious type after all.

* * *

He stepped up to the German man, heart thumping in his chest after all he seemed quite intimidating with that scowl on his face. He shook his head off that thought. One thing that Feliciano always got taught by his grandpa was "never judge a book by it's cover."

"Hey, it's you." Feliciano greeted to the man's back and broad shoulders.

He turned around to see who was speaking to him, staring at Feliciano with his sky blue eyes.

"Ah, hello. You're the person who sold me those delicious fruits," He smiled.

"Yes, enjoying Italy?"

"Oh, yes very much the people are so friendly and cheerful."

"I'm glad that you're enjoying it, so what's it like in Germany?" Feliciano stuttered nervously, his shyness catching up with him.

"It's got great scenery, but believe me, it's not really as cheery as here."

"So what brings you here anyways?" Feliciano asked, his curiousity overflowing

"I love to come here to relax. You certainly are full of questions, what's your name anyway?" The man grinned, sipping his beer.

"It's Feliciano, what's yours?"

"Ludwig."

"Nice to meet you, Feliciano, and you look very young, how old are you?"

"Thanks, and you too. I'm 17, will be 18 in a few months." Feliciano smiled, but Ludwig's face and eyes saddened.

"You too, huh?" Ludwig finally muttered out. "I'll be 18 soon too, I believe the military here is compulsory, same as Germany."

"Huh? Oh yes, my brother is going there soon too."

"Mhm, be careful ok?"

Feliciano just nodded at the request the stranger gave to him and they continued talking throughout the evening until Feliciano noticed the time.

"I better get back home to my brother."

"Alright then, well I'll be back here tomorrow, I'm here for a couple of weeks anyway." Ludwig shrugged.

"Sure, meet in the bar again after I've finished?"

"Ok, sounds like a deal." Ludwig smirked.

Feliciano walked out the bar and waved to Ludwig.

_'He seemed really nice, it's nice to meet new people.'_ Feliciano thought to himself, as he exited and made his way back home under the clear sky.


	2. Emptiness

Feliciano skipped towards the market, hoping to see that friendly German stranger again today. He set up the stand again, like any other usual day, carefully placing the fruits in order.

Soon after, he attracted quite a crowd.

"We heard you sell the best fruits here." said one customer, which caught Feliciano's attention.

"That's right, only the best for our delightful customers." He smiled, heart racing in his chest. Did Ludwig tell them about this?

Towards the evening, he glanced around, hoping to spot the blond hair and blue eyes in the crowded marketplace. But...nothing. His happiness drained away a little at the very thought of Ludwig not turning up.

* * *

Then, his thoughts were interrupted by that familiar deep voice that sent a shockwave through Feliciano's body.

"Erm, hello? Feliciano wasn't it?" Feliciano's eyes widened.

"Hello again, Ludwig." He nodded, trying not to sound too overjoyed at the thought of him turning up.

"I heard you sold the best fruits here." He winked playfully.

Feliciano caught up to the whole situation, his head was a whirlwind of emotions and he didn't even know why this German stranger made him feel like this. He had always been a confident person around people.

"So, you did tell them about this place." Feliciano exclaimed.

"Yes, I wanted to help you out."

"Thank you, kind sir." Feliciano almost said in a whisper, his voice was almost hoarse with emotion.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, want to go to the bar again? It's getting late, I have to pack up anyway."

"Hey, not before I buy more of that fruit." Ludwig held out his hand to stop the auburn haired Italian.

"Just take it you've helped me enough today."

"Oh really? Thanks!" Ludwig almost grinned at that, a warm feeling peered up inside him, he loved doing deeds for others. He took a few apples and oranges and bagged them up.

"I'm going towards the bar, I'll meet you there then?" Ludwig talked softly, his sky blue eyes pierced through Feliciano's heart.

"Sure, I'll be there in a minute." And with that, Ludwig walked off to the bar area.

* * *

Feliciano caught a glimpse of the blond hair in the crowded bar area, his heart raced as he got nearer. Ludwig was talking to the crowd yet again. His grin and his laughter seemed to be the only thing that Feliciano saw and heard, his eyes and ears too focused on him rather than the surroundings.

"Hello again, Ludwig." The cheerful Italian greeted towards him.

"Oh hello."

Suddenly, Feliciano felt his arm being grabbed and himself pulled along. He didn't know how to react to that, all he knew was that blood pounded in his head.

"Come, I want to chat with you a little more."

"Ok." He nodded, not knowing what to say other than the muddle of words inside his head which he wanted to choke out.

They sat at a table and had a long talk with each other, about their hobbies and favourite food. But then Feliciano accidentality blurted out something, something he's never trusted anyone with.

"My brother will be going into the military soon."

Ludwig's eyes saddened, he didn't know how to respond to that.

"I'm very worried about him." Feliciano looked down, tears flooded his eyes.

"I may not know your brother very well, but I'm sure he wouldn't want you worrying about him." Ludwig sighed. "I myself have a brother in the military."

"What's your brother's name?" Feliciano tried to direct the attention on another subject.

"Gilbert."

Feliciano stared into Ludwig's kind eyes, he truly knew that Ludwig deeply cared for Gilbert. This is how Feliciano should be for his brother's sake, but he couldn't bare the thought of Lovino just going off suddenly.

"I understand you're upset about it, but it's just one of those things you can't change, not by yourself." Ludwig shook his head. "I believe in you."

Those simple words gave Feliciano such power and strength, his lips curled into a smile.

I barely even know this person, yet here I am talking about my problems and deepest fears with him. Feliciano's very thoughts were flooded with those words.

"Are you ok?" A voice snapped him out of his thoughts, Feliciano just realised that he was just staring into space.

"Oh, yeah sorry was just thinking."

"You may not know me that well, but I'll be here if you want to talk about anything." Feliciano smiled at how understanding and patient Ludwig was with him, it was like they were best friends yet they hardly knew each other.

* * *

"Happy birthday, Lovino." Feliciano exclaimed to his grumpy looking brother, today was the day that his brother went into the military. That didn't stop Feliciano from celebrating Lovino's birthday.

"We should enjoy this time together." Feliciano said, but Lovino just nodded sadly.

He decided to set off to the military base tomorrow to sign up, he may as well just enjoy this birthday with Feliciano. He managed to lighten up a little and relax throughout the day, enjoying some wine and joking and laughing with his brother.

* * *

Lovino called it a night early, leaving Feliciano sitting reading his book.

"Going so soon, Lovino?"

"Yeah, I suppose I better get an early night, since I have to wake up early."

"Mhm, well goodnight."

"Goodnight Feliciano."

Lovino closed his bedroom door, almost slamming it shut. He never wanted to cry so bad in his entire life, even when Grandpa died he stayed strong for Feliciano's sake. Tears pricked his eyes and he buried his face in his hand, the emotions flooding his head and he decided to lay down. He thought at whether Feliciano will be ok on his own or how the military will treat him and his brother. He landed his fist in his pillow and balled it up tightly, shaking his head of those thoughts.

"Sensitive Feliciano." He whispered to himself "You don't deserve this."

* * *

After a while, he tossed and turned throughout the night. He stared up at the ceiling and sighed. Lovino became frustrated with himself and launched himself up off the pillow.

"May as well start packing then, since I can't sleep." He mumbled.

Things were so lonely without Lovino greeting him or having conversations with him at the bar area. Everything around Feliciano was suddenly so empty and he felt a gap in his stomach everytime he returned from the marketplace.

* * *

He came back from the bar and switched the lights on, sighing. Feliciano was with Ludwig again that evening and he forgot the time completely. He did not have a brother anymore to get home to, so he didn't really bother rushing home. At least he had Ludwig to fill that emptiness now.

* * *

After 8 months without Lovino, he felt a strange feeling creep upon him. It was as if every piece of his memory regarding his brother was taken out, which resulted in any memories he shared with Lovino feeling like a dream. _Was this the brain's way of dealing with painful memories?_ He asked himself as he sighed and unbuttoned his shirt, filling up a glass of wine just to relax himself a little. He was certainly overthinking, admitting to himself that Ludwig was his only escape from the hurt of returning to an empty house.

But that was all to come to an end, everything crashed down on Feliciano and he stood there in complete shock, almost shaking.

"I-I'm sorry, what?" Feliciano stuttered, trying to take it all in.

"I'm going back to Germany tomorrow." Ludwig sighed.

Feliciano's eyes widened. He didn't want the only thing that kept the emptiness of his brother leaving to just go.

"I'm sorry, but my train leaves tomorrow."

There was no point in fighting it, but Feliciano just slumped even further into his chair and sighed.

_'Is this really it?'_ Feliciano thought, his eyes darted around.

"Don't worry though, Feli. Let's just enjoy tonight." He comforted. "I'll give you my number if you want."

Feliciano's eyes pulled themselves up at those words, a glimmer of hope shone in them.

"Sure."

Ludwig got out a pen and a torn up piece of paper and scribbled down a number.

"Here." He slid the paper towards Feliciano who picked it up and put it safely in his pocket.

* * *

They enjoyed the rest of the evening together, it may just be their last time together, so they cherished it.

"Listen, I'm coming back in another month before I go to the army." Ludwig suddenly whispered to him, making his body shudder a little.

"Really?" Feliciano almost shot up.

Ludwig just sat there and nodded, his sky blue eyes focusing on Feliciano.

"I'll make sure to get some fruits from the best fruit salesman in the world." Ludwig winked.

Feliciano's face flushed and a hot feeling came over him, his heart thumped to his throat and his stomach seemed like it was doing multiple backflips. He didn't understand why he felt like this only around Ludwig.

_'Is this love, what I'm feeling?'_ Feliciano asked himself. The very thought gnawing at his mind, but it did not seem to bother him.

"Thanks. Be sure to recommend me." Feliciano smiled, almost choking out the words.

"Already have." He winked again, Feliciano's heart pounced in his chest at that simple motion he did.

He chuckled nervously, of course Ludwig did recommend him to the kind people of the village. But his thoughts were all on holding, kissing and holding Ludwig close to him, feeling his skin against his and the sweet smell of Ludwig hitting his nose. This thoughts sent a tingle down his body and a warm feeling pulsed through his body, waking up the butterflies in his stomach.

"Do you want me to meet you at the train station tomorrow?" Feliciano looked down, his eyes trying to find somewhere to focus.

"Sure, if you want." Ludwig smirked, he seemed to be pleased like it was what he wanted to hear.


	3. Confession

Feliciano walked towards the train station, deep in thought , questions filled his head

_'Did Ludwig feel the same?'_ That was the question that popped up mainly in his mind. He shook his head of that thought and continued making his way to the station.

* * *

The morning sun hit Feliciano's face and he peered towards the direction of his location, shielding his eyes from the gleaming of the sun. He focused towards a man sitting on a bench surrounded by a few other people, the blonde slicked back hair caught Feliciano's chocolate eyes and he almost ran towards he got closer, Ludwig seemed to have his head buried in his hands.

"Ludwig." He cheerily greeted.

Ludwig twitched his ear and he raised up his head and focused his sky blue eyes on Feliciano, his heart beating in his chest.

"Oh hello, I'm glad you can make it." Ludwig forced a smile.

He sat down next to him in attempt to get more closer to him to feel his warm breath against his skin.

"What's wrong?" Feliciano asked, looking worriedly at the German.

"It's nothing." He peered over at Feliciano and sighed.

Feliciano's heart skipped a beat. He knew something was wrong the thought pressed against his chest. He stared at Ludwig for a few moments, not knowing what to say.

"Well, I guess my train will be coming soon." Ludwig said, breaking the silence and fixing his eyes to the hard concrete floor. Feliciano never seen Ludwig look so sad and blank. He couldn't control his emotions or his actions, his hand crept up to Ludwig's own and tears stung his gently touched Ludwig's soft hand, all of his body was pounding but he loved it. Ludwig gasped and to Feliciano's surprise, his hand met Feliciano's and grasped it. A small blush appeared on Ludwig's face.

"So, is this really goodbye?" Feliciano stared blanky at the platform. A tear rolled down his cheek.

"No, Feliciano." Ludwig whispered back. "We'll stay in contact." He lifted a hand and brushed off the annoying tear on Feliciano's soft face.

* * *

A heavy sound filled the area, the train was approaching. Feliciano almost shot up and saw it charging towards the station.

"This is my train." Ludwig sighed, picking up his suitcase.

"Ludwig, don't go," Feliciano blurted out, blushing.

"I'm sorry I have to,"

The train stopped and the doors opened.

"Goodbye for now," Ludwig held out a hand and a small smile appeared on his lips. Feliciano couldn't help himself, he threw himself towards Ludwig and held him into an embrace and let the tears flow over his shoulder, grabbing at his shirt. Ludwig's eyes widened at the action of Feliciano, he put his arms around him. Ludwig was shocked to say the least. He enjoyed having Feliciano this close to him.

"Don't go please, you're the only one that kept me going after my brother left." Feliciano spluttered through his tears. He knew he was mumbling and this attempt was no use. Ludwig just stayed silent and carefully unwrapped himself from his embrace.

"I'm sorry. I really have to go or I'll miss my train." Ludwig turned around, but felt himself being stopped by Feliciano's arms tightly around him. Feliciano leaned his head against his back.

"Please." He whispered against his back.

Ludwig saw how upset Feliciano was, it's not like he had anything waiting for him in Germany either.

"Feliciano, why?"

"You're the only one that makes me feel complete." Feliciano snapped his head up. Ludwig's cheeks turned red, he quickly faced the train to hide it. The train's doors shut and the whistle blew, it slowly made its way out of the station.

"I..." Ludwig started but didn't know what else to say, he just witnessed his train back to Germany disappear like that. But he was not displeased or upset. All he cared about was making the Italian man crying behind him happy. He thought it'll be easier to express his feelings through actions rather than words, so he turned around and pulled Feliciano into a tight hug.

"I'll stay ok? For you." He finally thought of the correct way to say it.

"Thank you." Feliciano gripped his shirt again, cherishing the moment that he had Ludwig so close to him. It sent shivers down Feliciano's spine and warm feeling was present in his stomach. He never wanted the hug to end. Ludwig pulled back from the hug, blushing greatly he had never felt this way before. The crowds of people emptied from the station, they never even noticed, they were too locked into each other.

* * *

"Let's go then, you lead the way." Ludwig smiled, holding out his hand.

Feliciano nodded and slowly brushed his hand against his before grabbing onto it.

"There's something I need to tell you Feliciano." Ludwig stared into his eyes, still hand in hand.

"Yes?" His eyes fluttered towards Ludwig._ 'is he going to confess his love?'_

Ludwig fidgeted nervously his palms began to sweat and his breathing got heavy. He couldn't hear anything over the pounding of his heart in his ears.

"There is something I've been meaning to tell you too, Ludwig." Feliciano laughed nervously.

"Oh, you first then." Ludwig didn't know how to express himself, all he could do was blush and a tight feeling round his throat seemed to restrict his vocal chords.

"Ludwig, I think I may be..." Feliciano took a deep breath. "Falling for you."

He clenched his teeth, looking down scared of Ludwig's reaction. When there wasn't anything, Feliciano lifted his head to see him with a speechless expression stuck to his face._ 'I knew it, I made the whole thing awkward, maybe he doesn't have feelings for me.'_ He thought to himself.

"Feliciano? I-" Ludwig choked out.

"You don't love me back?" Feliciano started to cry, his body became warm and tense, nearly angry. Why did he have to do that?

"Of course, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Calm down please." Ludwig comforted him by cuddling him and rubbing his back. "I'm sorry about how I reacted, I didn't really know how to even respond."

"It's fine. At least now I know." Feliciano sighed with relief, calming down. His muscles dropped around Ludwig's shoulders. His face grew nearer to Ludwig's, this is what he was waiting for all this time. Feeling his warm breath brush against his face. Their lips met and it gave them both a pleasant feeling, a relaxing one like a huge weight had lifted off their shoulders. Ludwig gently ran his fingers through Feliciano's delicate auburn hair. They both pulled away from each other,staring deeply into each other's eyes.

"Let's go home, Ludwig." He smiled, still holding onto Ludwig's hand.

"Come back with me to Germany." Ludwig whispered into his ear.

"That's crazy." Feliciano exclaimed in astonishment.

"No, you're right. I'm sorry I shouldn't have suggested such a forward thing." He looked down, gazing at the cracks on the ground, trying to distract himself from the feeling of awkwardness.

"Of course you'll come back, just stay a couple of weeks with me." Ludwig continued "Then you won't be so lonely."

* * *

Feliciano stayed silent, trying to take it all in and choosing an answer to give to his first love. They only known each other for a few months.

_'Is it really right for me to go with him?_' Feliciano thought to himself, but he got distracted by Ludwig pulling his eyes off the ground and holding his hand.

"Your brother would want this too."

Feliciano's eyes widened, he was right, Lovino always wanted the best for him. Even though Lovino was sometimes too straightforward with people, but that's his way of showing others he cared. He was always overprotective towards his little brother, but that's how siblings are. He shook his head of the thoughts and looked into Ludwig's eyes, this felt right and comfortable.

"What's the matter, my love? Will you come?" Ludwig stared at Feliciano in desperation, heart pounding in his chest and nervousness creeping upon him.

"Yes." He finally choked out. Ludwig let out a sigh of relief.

Feliciano wondered off the platform, leaving Ludwig confused.

"Where are you going?"

"To pack some things of course."

Ludwig almost felt a wave of embarrassment and blushed, what a stupid question. Of course he needed his things before they depart.

* * *

"So, what's Germany like?" Feliciano walked next to his lover, whilst carrying his suitcase.

"You'll see when you arrive there."

They both walked hand in hand back to the station and purchased an extra ticket. The platform was once again crowded and noisy. Feliciano noticed that Ludwig wasn't particularly acting himself, he kept looking in his direction with a blank expression,almost sad.

"What's wrong?" Feliciano asked, a little worried.

"Nothing, it's ok." Ludwig laughed nervously.

The rumbling of the train approached the platform, the crowds of people began to line up.

"This is our train." Ludwig pointed to it, feeling restless.

They got on the train and put their luggage on the compartments, Ludwig sat down nearly sighing sadly.

"Listen Feliciano, I can talk now since we have more privacy." He whispered,leaning towards him. Feliciano forced his head to face him, the expressionless face on him said it all, it had to be bad news.

"What is it?" He held his hand and rubbed it gently. His heart racing, urging for him to just spit it out already it was just too much. Every second Ludwig paused to find the right words felt like hours.

"I'll be going to the army in a few months." Ludwig sighed, staring down at the floor.

"Oh." That's all Feliciano could respond, his head a whirlwind of emotions whilst processing everything that he just said.

"So, I want to spend as much time as possible with you." Ludwig pulled his lips into a small smile.

"It's ok. We can get through this." Feliciano smiled, optimistically.

"I'm more worried about you."

"Me?" Feliciano was puzzled "Oh, don't worry about that, it's not yet anyway."

"Yes, when I'm gone and you have to go to the army yourself too."

"I'll be fine." He smiled, pulling Ludwig into a small hug for comfort.

"I know you're a sensitive person, I can see that in your eyes. Just promise me you'll be ok." His voice broke at the end. Feliciano took a deep breath, not wanting to see the love of his life nearly on the edge of tears.

"I promise." He said, looking deeply into Ludwig's breathtaking eyes. Feliciano then stared out the window at the passing scenery.

"Isn't this beautiful?" He leant his head against the window then suddenly jumped up out of his seat.

"Hey, what are you..."

His question was answered by Feliciano reaching into his suitcase and pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil.

"Something to do, I guess." Feliciano grinned and shrugged.

"You never told me you liked to draw."

"I didn't?" He focused on the paper, his eyes saddened a little. He sketched out the lines of the scenery lightly.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh, no I've always been hesitant about drawing ever since that happened."

Ludwig decided it was best not to pry into what was making him sad, not wanting to make him more upset.

"I don't want to pry into it any further then." Ludwig smiled at the relaxing thought of Feliciano happily drawing.

"What do you want to do after we get out from the service?" Feliciano asked, catching Ludwig a little off guard.

"Well, I've always wanted to travel. What about you?"

"I want to draw, paint and cook. I've always wanted to open a restaurant." He replied.

He touched the paper with the pencil so delicately, the pencil flowing hypnotically against the paper.

"That's great." Ludwig was pulled into the trance of the pencil strokes, it was already presenting so well under the gentle strokes of Feliciano's pencil.

"Your drawing is so beautiful." Ludwig whispered, which sent shivers down his back. Ludwig pulled him into a hug and kissed his forehead lightly, which automatically made Feliciano's heart shoot up to his throat. This made his hand which the pencil was in jolt a little leaving a little mark on the paper.

"Sorry, sorry." Ludwig panicked "I shouldn't have broke your concentration by surprising you like that."

"It's ok, I have an eraser." He comforted, rubbing out the extra mark and continuing the sketching.

"Now for the shading, I wish I brought my colours." Feliciano gently scratched with his pencil back and forth on the paper.

* * *

The train journey really dragged on, but soon it was nighttime, the windows were black and the only light was from lamps sitting on the table. Ludwig watched over at him comfortably sleeping on top of his completed sketch, he rolled his eyes and smiled.

"You have a long journey ahead of you, my love." Ludwig mumbled, stroking at Feliciano's soft hair. He began to wake up slowly, seeing a blurry figure in his sights. Focusing to see the eyes he fell in love with staring down at him with the usual serious face.

"Hey Ludwig." He greeted with a little slur and rubbed his eyes.

"Hey, it's time for you to get a proper rest in a better bed."

He helped Feliciano up and put him on the bed. Feliciano felt warm lips touch his forehead.

"Goodnight, darling." Feliciano smiled.

"Goodnight."

Ludwig held the sketch in his hands and pulled his lips into a smile, holding it to his chest and sighing. He then fixed his eyes onto Feliciano and smirked, fast asleep already.

* * *

They were on the train for two more days, finally reaching into familiar surroundings for Ludwig.

"I recognise this place. We're here."

Feliciano stepped out of the train, pacing himself with Ludwig behind him, nervous at being at another country. He breathed the air around him and felt himself being pulled into a hug from behind.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Ludwig whispered into his ear.

The air was fresher and the cold hit him hard, it was much warmer back in Italy. He shivered a bit on the platform. Ludwig stared down at him, noticing the little Italian shaking and rattling his teeth. He took off his jacket and gently placed it around him.

"Here. It's ok I'm used to the cold weather here."

"Thanks."

'This is going to be the best few weeks ever.' Feliciano thought, as he put his suitcase in Ludwig's room. He examined the contents of his room, everything was organised and tidy. A few books crowded his desk, Feliciano tried to read the titles, but they were all in German, seemingly in alphabetical order. He skimmed the spines of the books with his fingers. Ludwig came in with a couple of hot drinks and placed them on the drawers, smirking at him.

"I see you found my boring book collection."

Feliciano almost jumped out of his skin, he shoot upwards and snapped his head around.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." Feliciano flailed his hands around in a panic.

"It's ok, I'm not angry." Ludwig hugged up to him and gave him a peck on the lips.

"Is this tea?" Feliciano questioned, pointing at the mugs resting there on the drawers.

"Yes, I drink tea sometimes."  
"Are you a Brit or something?" Feliciano half joked, playing with the buttons on Ludwig's shirt. To his surprise, Ludwig started chuckling.

"Nope, I don't drink it every second." He teased.

Feliciano felt a warm feeling radiate throughout his stomach, his smile was so lovely and his laugh sent a nice shiver down his spine.

"I love you, Ludwig." Feliciano held Ludwig's hand.

"I love you too, my little Feli." He replied, playfully nuzzling at Feliciano's hand.

_'I'm right, this will be the best two weeks ever.'_


	4. Disappearance

Ludwig awoke and rubbed his tired eyes, stretching and seeing the Italian sleeping next to him. He stared at how peaceful he looked in his slumber. The corner of his lips tugged a little smile, as Feliciano drooled a bit and tossed and turned about. For once in Ludwig's life, he didn't really want to get up early, just wanting to stay with Feliciano and cuddle up to him and wait for him to wake up. Maybe even sleep much longer.

_'It's weird how love can change a person.'_ Ludwig thought to himself. He decided to just put his arm around Feliciano's chest and shut his eyes.

"Hey, wake up sleepyhead." A cheery voice echoed, almost calling to him. A dream?

"Ludwig." There it was again, saying his name.

Ludwig slowly opened his eyes,awaking from his deep sleep. He raised his hand up to his forehead, a little headache present.

"What time is it?" Ludwig sleepily asked, yawning.

"It's 5pm."

"WHAT?" Ludwig bellowed, panicking.

"I'm joking, it's only 11am." Feliciano grinned.

"Ha, you got me scared for a second there."

Ludwig reached his hands up and tickled Feliciano's sides, making him squirm and giggle, nuzzling playfully at his neck.

"This is for making me scared, you little..." Ludwig smirked.

"ok, ok I'm sorry." Feliciano spluttered in between his fits of giggles. Ludwig stopped tickling and they just gazed into each other's eyes, Feliciano leaned in for a kiss on the lips and pulled himself back.

"I'll make you some breakfast, come on." Ludwig grabbed Feliciano's hand, still in his boxers, forgetting about his morning work out routine.

"Hey, but we should really get changed first." Feliciano blushed a little, he had to admit that he loved Ludwig's muscular body and broad shoulders.

"Oh, haha yeah." Ludwig grinned, a little embarrassed.

* * *

They got changed and Ludwig made them a nice breakfast consisting of pancakes with chocolate. The smell hit his nose, the batter of the pancake turned a nice shade of brown, perfectly cooked.

"This is so delicious." He commented with a mouthful of pancake.

"I'm glad you like them, I cooked them all the time for my brother."

"So, your brother, what is he like, may I ask?" Feliciano queried curiously, woofing down another bit of pancake.

"Ah, he's a pain sometimes." He responded. "But there is a lot of kindness in him."

"Reminds me of my brother."

"Siblings, eh?" Ludwig winked.

"So now you're Canadian? Cooking pancakes and saying the stereotypical "eh""

"You have a strange sense of humour, but I love it." Ludwig snickered. "Is your brother like you?"

"Nope, not really. He is more serious, but he has a good side." Feliciano explained.

"We're opposites too." Ludwig sat down and ate his pancakes. "What's his name?"

"Lovino, your brother's name is Gilbert, right?" Feliciano just sat there, leaning his chin on his hand.

"Yes, that's right."

"So. What made you come to Italy?"

"I love the scenery there, it's so great, plus everywhere I go around here. It reminds me of Gilbert."

"I bet, I feel the same way about Lovino."

"Is that why you stopped drawing?" Ludwig suddenly asked, he was not ready at all for that question. He noticed Feliciano's facial expression changed drastically.

"No, I..." He fixed his eyes to the table.

"On the train, you said that you were hesitant about drawing and I wondered why." Ludwig instantly regretted saying what he said. Feliciano stood up with tears rolling down his cheeks and began to run towards the front door.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Ludwig nearly tripped over a chair sprinting after him. But Feliciano never stopped, he kept running and running. The front door slammed and Ludwig chased after him. He desperately looked around the street to catch a glimpse of the auburn hair, but it was nowhere to be found.

"Feliciano, hey come back!" He shouted, his breathing turned rapid and the adrenaline pumped in. He sprinted up the street, shouting his name in desperation.

"God, I'm such an idiot." He gripped his arm, shedding a tear. "He's alone in a foreign country, he could be hurt or worse." Ludwig shook his head of those thoughts. "Damn, what am I thinking?" Those very thoughts sent a shockwave through his body and a knife piercing through his heart. He just had to find him.

* * *

The afternoon came and nothing, the sun bore down on the area. He was getting more panicked by the second, frantically searching every single road near his house. He became frustrated and hit his fist hard against a brick wall, yelping in pain.

"I deserved that." He muttered, sadly.

Ludwig's stomach twisted at the very image of Feliciano hurt or kidnapped by a stranger, his eyes focused on the bloody mess that was his made that thought eat away at him as if he was punishing himself for his stupid curiosity. He just curled up into a ball and leant against the brickwall and let the tears run, thinking that he'll probably never see his lover's bright, cheerful face again. This just tore Ludwig apart.

_'What am I doing? I should be out searching not bundled up in a mess.'_ Ludwig thought and regained his feet, eagerly searching for him.

* * *

Evening came, the sunset painted a nice orange glow on the houses and grass. All that could be heard was children playing and laughing.

"Where could he be?" Ludwig's heart raced, then he had an idea. Maybe he could ask one of the kids. He stepped up to a little blonde girl and leant down to her level, speaking softly to her.

"Excuse me, you don't suppose you or anyone else has seen a man about my age with auburn hair and brown eyes?"

The girl shook her head and the other kids had no information whatsoever, no luck in getting even an inch closer to finding him. He began to worry his head off.

_'Please, come back to me, I'm not upset at you, just come back.'_ He begged in his head.

* * *

"This'll keep me warm for the night, I guess." Feliciano sighed. "I bet Ludwig is worried sick."

He found an abandoned shack, the door was stiff and he had to force it open, in there was an open space where he could sleep and get shelter from the weather.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know how to get back." He whispered to the roof. "I hope you'll forgive me and you're not mad at me."

He lied on the cold, hard floor, tearing up. He just couldn't sleep at all, his stomach growled with nausea and his throat was knotting up.

"If I go out now? Will I end up more lost?" He mumbled to himself, eying the door. "No, it's better to stay in one place."

Feliciano got up and began to walk around, restless and nervous at the same time. He could feel that Ludwig was so worried about him and that he was so sad. It couldn't be helped, they both cared for each other so much. His tears dripped on the floor, making a patting sound on the wood. It grew even darker and colder in the shack, he began to quiver a little.

He moved outside to find a replacement blanket for himself. He was frightened of what will happen to him if he continues on exposing himself to the cold like this. Surely he will die? Then, calling to mind that he had seen this stuff before, remembering that he read about a thing called "hypothermia" or something like that. He moved about, trying to jog his memory on the subject. He only remembered three things.

"Move around. Share body heat and Don't fall asleep." He shivered, chatting his teeth together. Going back into the shack he rubbed his arms and hands together, breathing on them.

* * *

"Damn, it's freezing out here, I really hope he's ok." Ludwig got his thick jacket and hiking boots on and continued searching. He hadn't had anything to eat or drink since this morning and it was getting dangerously cold.

"Feliciano. If you can hear me, please come back." He bawled. He sighed when he got no reply or anything back, this was starting to get hopeless. He just can't give up, not when his everything could be in danger. The lantern wobbled in his hand with a sudden strong gust of wind. The swinging of the lantern made the light focus on a small wooden building sitting in a grassy area.

"Feliciano." He staggered with the wind up against him and put his everything into running towards the shack, he must be in there, he must be. He wedged his fingers between the door and forced it open with his brute strength. He entered the shack and searched the place, turning his head and scanning for something to at least lead him to where Feliciano is. Then, he saw it, his eyes caught a glimpse of a body, laying on the floor. He dropped the lantern and rushed to the body.

Something wasn't right, that feeling gripped Ludwig's stomach and tears flowed in his eyes again. Ludwig put a hand firmly on Feliciano's cheek, he felt cold.

"No, NO Feliciano, say something, please." He cried, shaking him a little.

He backed away from the body and gripped his cheeks with his fingers, digging his fingernails in, he screamed and grunted. Ludwig's fist hit the floor over and over again, he bent down and just let the tears flow down onto the floor.

"My precious Feliciano, because of me you're..." Ludwig growled, balling up his fist. "You can't be, you just can't." He stroked Feliciano's cheek gently and moved his fingers towards his neck, checking for a pulse. There on his fingers he felt weak thumps. It was small, but it was hopeful.

* * *

Immediately, he unzipped his jacket and laid it over him, hoping to warm him up. He rubbed the jacket and got close to him.

"Please, warm up." He begged, putting a warm cheek on his iced cold one. "Please, my little Feli. Hang in there for me" He kissed his lips and put another jacket layer on him. Ludwig gently touched his cheek, getting much warmer than before. He sighed with relief, but he wasn't out of the danger zone yet.

"Come on please, fight this." Ludwig shared his body heat and held him close whilst the clothes were keeping him warm.

Feliciano's fingers twitched a little bit and he began to move his arm, the pulse started pounding stronger against Ludwig's fingers. Hope raced throughout Ludwig's entire body and Feliciano's eyes flickered open. All he could see was a blur and a shadow facing over him. He attempted to reach out and touch the mysterious shadow looming over him, but couldn't, as he felt as though his arm has been restrained.

"Hey, Feliciano, say something!" A voice coming from the shadow came out in a muffled echo. Feliciano tried to communicate back with the figure, but once again, he couldn't do it. What was wrong with his body? Was he dead? He moved his eyes around the room, trying to gain answers. And then he remembered, everything that happened and where he was. He felt his fingers and hand being touched and held.

"Come on Feli, you're scaring me." There was that voice again, a familiar ring to it. He couldn't quite put a finger on it. Then it hit him, trying to speak the words but only a silent whisper came out.

"Ludwig." He rasped weakly.

"Yes, Feli. I'm here." He soothed, gripping onto his hand. "Just rest there, please."

Ludwig took one of the coats off Feliciano's torso and folded it up carefully and propped it gently under his head. He buried his face in it and shut his eyes whilst Ludwig got up close to him and played with his auburn hair.

* * *

Feliciano's eyes opened and his senses regained. A familiar deep thick accented voice came from his right.

"Are you ok, my love?"

"Yes."

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. I'm an idiot."

"It's ok, I shouldn't have reacted like that and worried you." Feliciano coughed.

"Can you stand?" Ludwig asked, he looked rather pale and distant.

"I think so." Feliciano weakly said, attempting to push himself up off the ground, struggling a bit. His arms shook under the strain. Ludwig grabbed his arm and put it over his shoulder, lifting him up gradually.

He took off back to his house and laid Feliciano on his bed, he winced in pain a little.

"Are you hurt?" Ludwig was concerned at that expression.

"It's just my back, lying on that hard floor." Feliciano forced a smile. Ludwig just gazed at him for a few moments, somehow that didn't seem convincing and he knew there was something else bothering him.

"I can feel there's more to this than just that."

"Your hand, what happened to it?" He fixed his eyes onto Ludwig's bloody hand in a expression of shock.

"Nothing, it's fine."

Feliciano eyed Ludwig suspiciously, feeling as though he was not hearing the whole part of the story of why his hand was soaked with fresh blood.

"Ok, I tripped whilst out looking for you and landed on it." Ludwig sighed, a feeling wrenched at his heart, not liking to lie to the one he loves. But he did not want to make Feliciano more worried.

"I hope it gets better, I'm sorry." He grew more upset, feeling guilty about the whole situation.  
"Just rest on the bed, dear." Ludwig calmy said, "If you ever want to talk about that then I'll be there to listen to you."

"Thanks Luddy." Feliciano beamed. It seemed much more convincing, like the sun shone in the room whilst he smiled. It brightened up the whole room, but most of all, it brightened up Ludwig's day.

"Luddy, is that my new nickname?" Ludwig chuckled.

Feliciano nodded and added. "You call me Feli too."

"Yes, I do now rest. You need it." Ludwig blew a kiss to him, who blew one back and walked out of the room. He stared down at his hand and sighed, feeling guilty about lying to Feliciano. But it was for his own protection.


	5. Goodbye

"This is a weird couple of weeks." Feliciano teased after a month of being with Ludwig. It felt so right, but it passed by so quickly. He took some pictures to show Lovino when he gets back from the army. Ludwig just chuckled at what Feliciano just mentioned, they were in the park having a nice picnic in the sun. The laughter of children filled the air and the grass waved delicately in the cool breeze. Feliciano closed his eyes and let the breeze brush his face like he did back home in the market. He missed those days but he enjoyed being with Ludwig so much. Ludwig just smiled sadly at him. He didn't want to leave Feliciano all alone with nobody to go to. After all, Ludwig had to leave to go to the army service next week and he was too scared to mention it after a perfect month with him. How will he react? This question popped up almost everyday in his head. He just shook it away and continued staring at Feliciano.

* * *

Ludwig couldn't sleep that night, all he could think of was a giant clock ticking away counting down the precious seconds he has with his darling. He stared up at the ceiling and just let his thoughts consume him, but the numbness eased as he focused his attention on his little Feli cuddled up to him and sleeping contently. Feliciano awoke and stretched out, smiling as the sun peeped through the curtains. He looked down at Ludwig who was still asleep, he got puzzled by this, as Ludwig was always awake before he was. He leant down and awoke him with a kiss, seeing him open his sky blue eyes.

"What's wrong? You look tired as hell." Feliciano asked, worried.

"Nothing, I just couldn't sleep." Ludwig replied, rubbing his head. Somehow, Feliciano didn't really seem that convince by his lie, however much Ludwig camouflaged his emotion Feliciano can see it as clear as day.

"I have to leave for the army next week." Ludwig gripped the bedsheets and looked down.

"Oh, that I thought that was coming." Feliciano saddened. "But, we'll have to enjoy every second together before you go, at least we can have that my love." Feliciano perked up a smile and Ludwig stared at him, surprised he was really positive about this and Ludwig admired and adored him for that.

"Yes, let's do that, we'll worry about that when the time actually comes." Ludwig smiled.

* * *

The week skipped ahead faster than they had liked and soon it was the day before Ludwig had to leave.

"You better go back tomorrow then." Ludwig sighed whilst on the couch, keeping his eyes on the TV.

Feliciano's grip tightened around his arm, which made Ludwig's heart weaken and a knot grow in his throat. All he could do was swallow his heart and nod. Feliciano sighed as his eyes fixed on the scenery as the train was taking him back, he leant his head on the cold, hard window and just got lost into his thoughts. Saying goodbye to his love was so painful and memories flashed through his mind of him drawing on the train whilst on his way to Germany and the weeks they spent together. He just wished that it would be longer, maybe forever, the fruit stand at the market was waiting back home for him and he will also suffer the same fate of those around him. Still, at least he won't feel so lonely and hurt.

He tried to keep an emotional mask on to cover his sad and hurt feelings at the fruit stand, almost everyone came up to him saying how much they missed him and the fruits he sells. All he could reply back to them was that he was on holiday with a good friend whilst smiling sadly.

* * *

-6 months later-

Tomorrow he would be saying goodbye to his home, the fruit stand and the place around it for who knows how long. The feeling of depression crept upon him, he just rested his arm over his eyes laying in his bed. He glanced over at the packed suitcase, remembering how he told everyone that the fruit stand won't be back anytime soon. He missed the times he spent with Ludwig so much, staring at the photo which was of them together which stood up by his bed.

The morning came and he woke up extra early, he rubbed his bloodshot eyes. Not feeling like wanting any breakfast, he just gathered up the last remaining bits that he needed and headed off.

* * *

"Wake up, stupid boy." Feliciano's thoughts got interrupted by a voice, snapping him out of his daydream. "Don't daydream when your superior is asking something."

"Yes sir, sorry." It was one of the officers who was enrolling him. Feliciano was already finding the whole thing uncomfortable and disorientating.

"Your name."

"Feliciano Vargas, sir." He stood to attention.

"Vargas, huh? We've got another one of you, must be your brother." The officer mumbled.

"This one will show you around,NEXT." The officer almost shouted in his ear, causing Feliciano to wince a little bit, he walked to find a man a little older than him, who he didn't really know taking him around where the different areas are.

"Some people are friendly here, they aren't all like that bossy boots in that room you know." He said at the canteen, digging into some food. "Oh, he said to give you this, your uniform."

"Thanks." Feliciano smiled at the man, poking at his food. He was not looking forward in getting shouted down by the officers. The man sitting in front of him smiled, he didn't have the usual Italian accent, it seemed rather different.

"My name is Antonio, what's yours?"

"Feliciano, nice to meet you." Feliciano greeted, returning the smile the green eyed man gave to him. "You're not really from around here, are you?"

"Well, I'm originally from Spain, but I moved here when I was little."

"Oh,a Spanish accent, interesting." Feliciano seemed intruiged by the man's accent. He loved learning about other cultures and languages.

Suddenly, Feliciano caught a glimpse of dark brown hair and green eyes that seem to stick out with his noticeable curl on the front of his hair.

"Hey Antonio, there is someone I want you to meet." Feliciano smiled at him.

"Oh, who…" Before Antonio could even finish that sentence, he got dragged from the canteen table towards another by an excited Feliciano.

"Lovino, hey Lovino!" Feliciano called out. The green eyes peered up at the person calling his name, the noise of chit chat in the canteen nearly drowned out the sound of it.

"It's you, hey Feliciano!" He greeted, smiling. He then focused his eyes on the guy next to him. "Who's this guy?"

"He's my new friend, this is Antonio and Antonio, this is my big brother, Lovino."

"Nice to meet you, Lovino." Antonio shook his hand and the three of them got talking.

"Hey Lovino, I met someone special whilst you were away." Feliciano blushed slightly.

"Oh, wow who?" Lovino looked almost surprised at this, the look of curiousity appeared on his face.

"His name is Ludwig and I spent the best time with him in Germany." Feliciano smiled, reminiscing in his head.

"A German?" Lovino cocked his eyebrow, he didn't like the sound of that. Antonio just sat there, feeling like he was interrupting a private chat between brothers.

"Yes, but he's really nice, I would like for you to meet him one day."

"Sure, if you say so. Be careful out there, please Feli, I missed you a lot you know." Lovino sighed.

"I promise that to you and I have missed you too, it's been so lonely back at the village, but at least you're here with me now."

They hugged and started to catch up more with each other and learnt more about Antonio and about his family and life back home.

"Oh shit, I need to go I'll be late for training." Lovino suddenly said, shooting up out of his chair.

"Aw, good luck. I'll see you here tonight then?"

"Sure, if you haven't got anything on, meet me here for the dinner at 1800."

"Cya brother, and cya Antonio." Lovino ran off, waving to them both.

"Cya."

"Come to think of it, we have training too, Feli." Antonio exclaimed, looking at his watch. "Let's go, I'll show you where it is."


	6. Reunited

The troops all stood on parade, like any other normal evening. Feliciano quickly picked up that army was strictly in a routine and very organised. That was the only thing that he loved about it. He's been in there for nearly a year now and he took every bit of officer's torment and intense training that he had to endure. He had to be honest with himself, he found it really difficult to fit in and the training exhausted him to the point where he was unable to move and threw up at stood to attention, uniform ironed and smartly dressed, just like everyone elses.

* * *

The officers came out and did the parade smoothly, everyone stood at ease once it had finished.

"Listen, you wimps. I have an announcement to make to you all." One of the officer's shouted out. "Our country is going to war soon, so I need all of you to make an effort with your training so we can get you built up ready for battle." Feliciano's heart lurched in his chest _ 'did he just say war?'_ he cringed a little, uncomfortable with the announcement. He was a strong believer in peace and war wasn't the way to get it at all.

"Anyway, I have two people from the Japanese and the German army who will assist in our training." The two officers marched in and saluted the captain and stood at ease beside him, glaring at the cadets. Feliciano's heart was pounding in his head, he couldn't believe it. There he was, standing tall and his breath taking blue eyes staring straight ahead. Of all the people and places, this had to be fate. He breathed hard through his nose and a small blush appeared on his cheeks, hoping nobody would notice.

"This is sergeant Honda and Corporal Beilschmidt."

That name rang huge bells in Feliciano's head and adrenaline pumped through his body, he felt like jumping in the air that they were reunited, but it wasn't the right time to express that emotion.

The two saluted and Feliciano just giggled in his head about how handsome Ludwig looked in uniform. Next to him, there was a shorter person with dark hair and brown eyes wearing a white uniform with gold and black epaulettes. A sargeant? He's ranked higher than Ludwig. But he looks so much younger than him.

They started by inspecting the cadets at ease, this made Feliciano feel rather uneasy, since they got really close to the others. He felt relieved that he was on the backrow and made things a whole lot easier. Until he saw Ludwig's face in his view, staring straight at him with his frown, which softened a little. Feliciano so desperately wanted to lean forward and kiss him, feeling his warm breath once again on his skin felt so good. Ludwig had a nervous expression on his face and awkwardly inspected Feliciano's uniform. Feliciano felt something being put in his hand, it seemed like a ball of paper. He slipped it in his pocket, making sure nobody spotted him.

* * *

After the parade and everyone was back in their barracks for the evening, Feliciano frantically dug into his pockets, searching for the note. He went outside and into the bathroom, locking himself in a stall. He unwrapped the note and read Ludwig's neat, italic handwriting.

_To my love._

_It's been a long time, we need to catch up, meet me in the training field at 2000hrs._

_Missed you alot and I still love you_

_Ludwig._

He read the letter over and over again, digging his eyes into it and processing his thoughts. His heart raced and a feeling of happiness flooded over him. Feliciano couldn't help stupidly grinning. He checked his watch and exited the bathroom, having half an hour to spare, going back to the barracks and sat on his bed and got lost in his thoughts. He found himself fixing his eyes on the wall, minutes felt like hours.

"Hey, are you ok?" A voice interrupted his thoughts and he shot upwards. He turned around to see Antonio with a cheery smile.

"Yes, I'm fine." He smiled back "Just daydreaming."

"Wanna come with us to get some snacks?"

"Oh, well I'm going to meet someone at 8."

"That's fine, we'll be back before then."

_'Why not? It'll distract you.'_ Feliciano thought in his head, he shrugged and decided to go with them.

* * *

Time flew by quickly, Feliciano didn't realise the time skipped way past 8, he checked his watch when he had the time and jumped up.

"Ah, I have to go." Feliciano panicked, sprinting out the room. He arrived at the training field, out of breath. He desperately wandered his eyes around the field, looking for something, but he found nothing.

"Shit." He cursed under his breath, punching the ground. He just wanted to break down because he lost possibly the only chance he had to contact Ludwig again. There was not much else for him to be there for, so he just left, fixing his eyes on the ground and scuffling his boots on the ground. His tears patted on the chalk path, he felt horrible and guilt clenched at his stomach. Along the way he bumped into someone,which knocked him over. He wasn't seeing where he was going. And he didn't really care much.

"Hey, watch where you're...Feliciano?" A familiar voice said with an angry tone. He pulled his head up and got greeted by that scowl and blue eyes. But the eyes had a fire and anger in them than usual, this took him by surprise.

"I'm so sorry, I came out here to look for you."He stuttered, trying to explain.

"Just get up, you look a mess." The angry tone in Ludwig's voice was getting predominant.

"I'm sorry again, really, I lost track of time." To his surprise, Ludwig turned his back and started to walk away. Feliciano was so confused on whether he was hurt or even angry at him for missing their meet up. He followed Ludwig to see what he would do.

"What are you doing out of your quarters at this hour, Vargas?" Ludwig coldly spat at him. "Go back at once, don't follow a superior officer."

"I apologised, what more you want me to do?" Feliciano sobbed a little, it felt like his heart was broken into pieces. The man he truly loved hated him with an anger in his eyes.

"Last warning, Vargas."

"I love you, Ludwig." Feliciano choked out the words, hoping it'll at least make him feel something. Tears stung Ludwig's eyes and he turned around, getting closer to Feliciano.

_'how could I be mad at him?'_

"Don't hate me please." Feliciano spluttered through the tears, as he got scared of Ludwig slowly getting closer towards him. But then, he felt all his worries and fears disappear , as he got pulled into a hug by Ludwig.

"How could I ever hate you?" Ludwig cried. He smiled as stray tears rolled down his cheeks, feeling ecstatic that he was in his arms again. Feliciano missed this so much, they both did, in between Ludwig's strong arms made him feel secure and so happy. This was their moment again.

"I love you too, my little Feli." Ludwig smiled, as he kissed him on the lips, passionately as Feliciano's fingers and hands couldn't help themselves, trailing on Ludwig's uniform as Ludwig started to kiss his neck.

"Hey, I've got somewhere we can go, follow me but be quiet, ok?" Ludwig whispered, winking. Feliciano nodded and took his hand and let Ludwig guide him to where they wanted to go.

* * *

He opened the door to an office of some sort, but Feliciano did not have time to look around. Before he knew it he was pinned up against a wall by Ludwig, kissing on his lips gently. Feliciano started unbuckling Ludwig's belt and his hands went up Ludwig's shirt, tracing his muscular body. He then pushed Feliciano somewhere, landing on a bed. Ludwig got on top of him and looked deeply into his brown eyes, smiling.

"Are you enjoying this? You want to go further?"

"Yes." Feliciano whispered. "I've missed you so much." Ludwig kissed Feliciano, unbuckling his trousers and pulling them down, nuzzling at his neck.

"Are you sure about this?" Ludwig whispered as Feliciano kissed him deeply, making a moan shiver on his lips.

"Yes. More than anything."

It felt good, waves of pleasure pulsated over him as he moaned softly. All he cared about was having Ludwig so close to him, nobody else could make him feel the same. He didn't want this night to end. He felt so loved and so good, all his worries and fears seem to fade away completely when he's around. Feliciano wrapped his arms around him, getting Ludwig as close as possible to himself as he finished.

"That felt intense." Feliciano breathed.

"Yeah, it did. I've missed you too, you know." Ludwig smiled, hugging up to the Italian and kissing his red cheeks.

"I'm so sorry to say this, but you should really go, you shouldn't be in here." Ludwig sighed, as Feliciano's smile gradually faded from his lips.

"Oh." That's all he could really say. He was upset that he wanted him to go so fast after what they had just done.

"Did I upset you? I'm sorry."

"No, you're right really. I should go." Feliciano sadly muttered.

"Stay here, Feli."

He looked over his shoulder at him, but felt Ludwig grabbing his hand and pulling him back down, cradling him in his arms. He couldn't help smiling and leaning against Ludwig's chest, feeling safe and secure.

* * *

Feliciano awoke in the officer's barracks, he panicked a little, knowing that he wasn't supposed to be in there. He noticed that Ludwig was gone, getting dressed he sneaked out of the place to the training field to start vigorous exercise.

Ludwig stared at him for a moment as he struggled on with the orders he gave. All of a sudden, Ludwig appeared in Feliciano's sights, he was there running next to him and supporting him. They looked deeply into each other's eyes whilst running, as Ludwig flashed him a smile which shone in his eyes. This gave Feliciano the strength to keep going, his motivation was Ludwig.

* * *

After training, they decided to sit in the canteen to eat their breakfast. Feliciano's muscles were extremely stiff and he wanted nothing more than to relax with Ludwig and let him massage his shoulders and back.

"Hey Feli." A voice called to him, he turned around to see Antonio and Lovino.

"Hey guys, join us if you want." He smiled happily. Antonio and Lovino both sat there with their food.

"So who is this person, Feli?"

"He's a very good friend of mine." Feliciano blushed, as he explained it, as much as he wanted to proudly tell everyone that Ludwig was his, it was best to keep it a secret.

"Hello. My name is Ludwig."

"Ludwig, this is Antonio and my brother Lovino."

"Ah, so this is the guy you were talking to us about." Antonio said. Lovino didn't really seem too happy at the concept, but seeing his brother happy and smiling again is what mattered most to him.

"So you're a corporal?"Lovino asked, peering at his uniform.

"Oh, yes, corporal Beilschmidt." Ludwig stated , proudly "But, you don't have to call me that,only on duty."

* * *

The four kept talking until they had to resume their other duties, so Antonio and Lovino had to say goodbye to the two. But Feliciano was itching to know something, now is the right time to say it, since they are alone.

"How did you even end up here? I mean this must be fate, right?"

"I guess it is, but I was the one who asked to be transferred here, I just picked a camp nearest to your town and hoped it was where you are."

"So, why are the foreign army here?" Feliciano seemed really curious, but Ludwig couldn't really say too much about this.

"It's about the war that's coming up."

"I remember that."

"Yeah, the war between some countries, but the Italians are resisting, seems like they don't like the idea of a compulsory army service."

"I don't really like that either, I think people should choose what they want to do instead of just force it on them."

Ludwig's eyes fixed onto his face, not knowing what to say. He strongly agreed on what Feliciano said. They finished up their food and continued their duties in training.


	7. War

This is it, the day they were dispatched out to war. Feliciano was so nervous and a bad feeling wrenched at his stomach. Ludwig held his hand as much as he could, careful of other soldiers who could see. They both walked onto the helicopter, drowning out the noises around them, strapping themselves in with their guns.

"I'm scared , Ludwig." Feliciano whispered.

"I know, I bet everyone here feels the same." Ludwig comforted. "Don't worry, you have me to protect you."

The helicopter landed and the backdoor opened. Ludwig stood up and made an announcement.

"Right, this group will go with me and the rest goes with sargeant Honda, keep close at all times and be careful out there."

Ludwig lead his troops outside to one of the tents and Kiku did the same, showing them where everything is, they set off.

"We're against the British and American troops." Kiku announced.

"Stay close to me ok." Ludwig muttered to Feliciano.

Feliciano had very little time to check out the scenery or where they even were, everything was such a rush which caused a whirlwind in his head.

"Look, they are British and American troops." Ludwig pointed from the bushes. Feliciano didn't even want to look, this is the enemy, which they got ordered to kill.

"If you don't want to get killed, you need to look." He slowly opened one eye, there was an instant difference to their attire, the men all looked so young and he shook a little.

"They barely look older than me." Feliciano's heart skipped, he wanted to be back home, painting drawing and cooking, not here, he wasn't built for this.

"We need to kill them, for our duty." Ludwig sighed, "I don't like it any more than you do." Ludwig pulled up his gun and aimed for one of them, but Feliciano jumped at him which made him jump, triggering a gunshot.

"What do you think you're doing? That was dangerous!" Ludwig quietly raised his voice.

This made the troops more alert to their surroundings, they put their guns to their cheek.

"We can't, they are human as well. Why are we attacking our own kind?"

"We have to or we will die. It's our duty to protect both our countries."

"I would rather die." Feliciano exclaimed, taking a deep breath and jumped out of the bushes.

"Hey, what are you doing, get back here."

* * *

Feliciano pretended that he didn't hear Ludwig and ran at full force towards the troops, as he chased after him, but Ludwig didn't reach him in time. The troops fired their guns, everything seemed to go by so slowly and the adrenaline pumped through Ludwig's body. Using the weapons to fend back the enemies in attempt to get to his lover's aid. Feliciano fell backwards into the floor after getting shot several times. Ludwig got hit with several emotions at once, he didn't know whether to cry, be angry or what. He was too confused at what just happened. Feliciano was injured, running towards his motionless body and what he saw turned his blood into ice.

"Feli? FELI!" Ludwig panted, holding him. "We need to get you a doctor." Ludwig picked him up and ran, his legs were burning, but he didn't care tears flooded his eyes. Ludwig heard a few more gunshots from behind him, a sharp pain ran through his leg, but he kept on running desperately. Guilt ate him inside, his little Feli wanted to paint and cook, sensitive Feli who'd rather die than kill anyone, it's too much to bare.

"Medic, please, anyone, save him!" Ludwig screamed, panting. He felt the warmth of the blood soak through his back. "Please, no, Feli please stay with me." He put him down and tore off part of his uniform, wrapping it around the wounds. He heard footsteps coming nearer and nearer towards them.

"Shit, its the troops." He saw them in the distant, he attempted to pick up Feliciano again, but the gunshots echoed, feeling a sharp pain bolt through his arm, he gritted his teeth and faced the soldiers. He felt the warm fresh blood dripping down his arm, shouting in frustration, as they pointed their weapons at him.

"Make one move and we'll shoot both of you."

Ludwig sighed and put his arms up, angry at himself. Why the hell didn't he jump in front of the bullets when his beloved got shot down and now he'll have to leave him to die.

"Feli, I'll come back for you, I promise, just please hang in there." He looked behind, tears rolling down his cheek. Guilt and sadness ate away at him. He just couldn't believe it, things were going from bad to worse and it wasn't even the first day in this war.

"Forget it, German with those wounds he'll die in a few more minutes."

Panick fell upon Ludwig, which made his whole body crumble, he didn't know what to do other than just stand there in a crying wreck. He didn't care about his surroundings and that he was being dragged off by the soldiers, Feliciano was getting further and further away. He couldn't even reach out to him,not being able to fight the grip of the troops, becoming very distant and tears stung in his eyes once again.

* * *

He got lead to an army base and forcefully thrown onto a chair and tied up, he couldn't resist, wanting himself alive so he can come back and save his love. He squirmed in pain as his injuries awakened, as he slammed onto the chair, peering up at the surroundings seeing a man sitting at a desk.

"Relax, corporal." The man smirked. "I'm only here to gain intel off you."

"Fat chance of that happening." Ludwig spat. "Let me go."

"Not until I get some intel."

"Look, I don't have anything, I know nothing of this war or any information I swear." The man leant forward, cocking a bushy eyebrow in suspicion, something told him that the corporal wasn't telling the full story. Ludwig squinted his eyes and got a good look at the man, blond short hair, green eyes and bushy eyebrows perched on top. A British officer, judging by his attire and rank stuck to the left arm of his jacket.

"Likely story, most of the men say that." The officer sighed. "We can't have you with those injuries, I'll get my medical team to look you over."

"I really don't know, please, just let me go."

"Give me one reason why I should."

Ludwig paused, thinking of a suitable reason, surely he should just come out and tell the truth to the officer.

"I need to save the one I love." Ludwig looked down, baring his teeth out of frustration.

"Is that why you deserted your post because of that idiot boy?"

Ludwig balled his fist up and dug his nails into his palm, the way he was talking about lovely sweet Feli like he was nothing.

"This is war, everyone's loved ones are dying. Now tell me everything or I shall resort to other harsh methods."

"I told you I don't know anything." Ludwig snarled whilst beads of sweat glistened on his brow, desperately trying to get his message across.

"Very well then, I don't like doing this, but you aren't giving me anything."

* * *

Feliciano watched Ludwig being dragged away by the soldiers, he was too weak to even do anything. He had the urge to scream and shout, but all that came out was a weak whisper. His vision turned blurry and a constant ringing in his ears deafened him. Was he going to die? He just wanted to let go and let death take him, but he just couldn't leave, not yet. Suddenly, two blurry figures appeared in his sight, they seemed to be calling his name. One voice he recognised so well and the other one he couldn't make out very well. He felt himself being picked up, feeling a sense of euphoria, he smiled and then everything went dark.

"Shit, he lost consciousness." Lovino panicked, trying to wake up Feliciano in Kiku's arms.

"We need to get him help quickly, he's lost alot of blood." Kiku ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

"There, look." Lovino pointed to a medical tent with a big red cross.

"Can you please look at this man?" Kiku asked, handing him over to the doctors. They rushed over, placing him on a bed.

"Come on, we need to get back to duties before someone sees us." Lovino panted, catching his breath. Kiku nodded and headed outside of the tent, praying that Feliciano will be safe with the doctors.

* * *

The medical team bandaged up Ludwig's wounds on his legs, but he had a feeling he would end up with more injuries staying here.

"Now that we've patched you up. You'll be more capable of giving me intel."

"Never in a million years." Ludwig spat, launching out of his chair. The guards around the officer sprang into action, pinning the corporal down.

"Get off me." Ludwig struggled. The whole scene was interrupted by a soldier marching in, Ludwig kept his eyes, studying his uniform. Another officer, this time he was an American. He was dressed in a brown bomber jacket and lighter brown uniform underneath, glasses perched over his dark blue eyes. He stood to attention, saluting the officer.

"What's your status, Captain Jones?"

"We have captured an Italian and a Japanese, sir."

"Bring them in and put them in the prison until I'm done with him."

"Rodger that, Major Kirkland."

Ludwig sat bloody and beaten from the officer's interrogation techniques, but he was a tough character and it would take more than that to knock him off his feet and crack.

"I told you over and over, I don't know..." Ludwig's sentence was cut off by a sharp pain in his head and blood dripped down his forehead.

"Not good enough, well I better lock you in the prisons with the other two."

* * *

The guards shoved him into the cell and locked the doors, he landed on the hard bricks of the floor, he gained his senses and started thrashing at the bars.

"No use doing that." A voice came from behind him, somewhat familiar to him. He turned around to see the presence of the dark haired Italian and the Japanese Sargeant.

"Lovino, sargeant Honda." He lips shook, not knowing what to say to either them about Feliciano. His first reaction was looking down and sighing. Lovino's face was covered in dried blood and Kiku's arm and clothing were bloody. How could Ludwig face them after he just let the British soldiers take him away and leaving Feliciano?

"Feliciano, h-he." Ludwig stuttered, tensing up his whole body to the point he was shaking.

"We know, stupid." Lovino butted in.

* * *

It was Lovino's turn to be interogated again, but all they heard was thrashing, swearing and alot of shouting from both sides, resulting in Lovino being thrown back into the cell.

"Don't worry, we took him to the medics in the tents." Kiku comforted. "We just have to pray and let the doctors do their best for him." Ludwig sighed with relief, at least he's getting the help he needed, but there was one thing that was still eating away at him.

"I have to see him." Ludwig frantically said without thinking, attempting to pick the lock.

"Are you crazy?" Lovino whispered. "They can clearly see us."

Lovino grabbed the bulky German around his waist, giving all his strength into pulling Ludwig away from that lock.

"Calm down." Lovino struggled.

"But Feliciano. He must be scared out of his mind." Ludwig's voice broke, as he couldn't hold back the tears any longer as he landed his fist on the bars.

"Calm down, please." Kiku repeated, holding back Ludwig's fists.

"There's more to this, isn't there? Huh?" Lovino raised his tone. Ludwig stayed silent and just sadly sighed, he couldn't keep his eyes off the floor.

"Come on, spill it." Lovino grabbed him and started shaking him, violently.

"Stop, you annoying brat."

"No, just tell me what's going on between you and my brother, you're more than just friends aren't you?"

"That's true, we're lovers." Ludwig confessed after a slight pause.

Ludwig felt a hard force land in his face and a sharp pain pulsed through his skull, he stumbled backwards, facing a panting Lovino with an injured fist.

"Fucking liar." Lovino hissed.

His cheek went numb and stars danced in front of his vision. He touched his stinging cheek, wincing in pain. Ludwig swallowed his heart and retorted back.

"I'm not lying."

"That's enough!" Kiku exclaimed, stepping in between the two angry men.

"All I want to say is that we're all worried sick for Feliciano and want to know what will happen. Not just you." And with that, Lovino turned his back to Ludwig, leaving him with his own thoughts. Of course he was being so selfish and only thinking of his worries instead of considering others in a heated situation.

"I'm sorry, I know we're all worried, but we can't do anything here." Ludwig apologised. "I have a plan."


	8. The Plan

They waited until a tray containing three plates of food and little water and gathered up the cutlery.

"This'll take forever." Lovino sighed.

"Well, at least I have a plan."

They began to chip away at the cement holding the cold and solid bricks together with the cutlery, slowly scraping the bits with the knife.

"It's too tough." Ludwig said.

"Keep going." Kiku whispered.

All three of them started to put more pressure on the knife, bending it slightly and gradually chipping off the cement.

* * *

An hour in, they saw a beam of light shining through the cement. It hit them, almost blinding the three of them. They silently cheered and began to twist the now bent knife through the hole, but before they could, the sound of footsteps was inching closer They hid the tools and Ludwig covered the hole with his body.

"What's all the commotion here?" It was none other than Arthur stood right infront of them. Before they could answer, Arthur unlocked the cell, stepped in and pushed Ludwig out the way with a force, revealing the shining beam of light from the chipping. He turned around to say something but he felt a sharp pain in his back, forcing him to the ground. Ludwig, Lovino and Kiku all piled on top of him, covering his mouth, but he managed to bite one of their fingers.

"Guards, help." Arthur muffled between their hands, trying to bite at all of them. The trio made a break for it, running towards what they thought was the exit and then they saw it. Sunlight, glowing beautiful sunlight and fresh air.

* * *

Arthur launched himself up and chased them, catching up with them. He sprinted, but he stopped in his tracks when he realised that they had split up, running in different directions. Arthur cursed under his breath and headed for the person he thought would be the most useful to gain intel off, the Italian of course. He rushed towards Lovino, who panicked. Lovino knew that Arthur was chasing him specifically, adrenaline pumped around his bloodstream as he begged his body to run faster. But Arthur was just too fast for him and was gaining rapidly on his tail, he tried to divert Arthur's attention, but he was just too focused on getting his prey. Arthur reached out and grabbed Lovino, placing a hand over his mouth, Lovino breathed through his nose hard. He bit Arthur's hand and let out a scream, with frustration and desperation. Ludwig and Kiku heard Lovino's scream that pierced their ears, Ludwig turned back to help him.

"Lovino, where are you?" Ludwig screamed, running towards the direction.

"Wait, it's too dangerous." Kiku warned, but Ludwig didn't want to listen. He ran up to see Arthur holding Lovino in an armlock.

"Hey, stop, let him go!" Ludwig shouted at the blond haired Brit, sprinting up to them.

"Why should I, German?" Arthur sneered.

"What the hell did you come back for, idiot?" Lovino spat "Leave before he catches you too." Ludwig was surprised at how he reacted to him being there, trying to save him. Lovino struggled in Arthur's grip, but it was just too painful, he winced a little, gritting his teeth.

"Can't we make a deal?" Ludwig fixed his eyes on the floor.

"Like what?" Arthur asked, kind of interested about what the German soldier had to offer.

"Him for me." Ludwig growled, he couldn't believe he was doing such a thing. He noticed the cold glare coming from Lovino though.

"Are you crazy? You're so fucking stupid." Lovino growled at him.

"No thanks, this one will be a lot more useful." Ludwig got into a fighting stance and balled up his fist, stomped up to Arthur whilst glaring at him.

"I wouldn't bother if I were you." Arthur smiled confidently.

He suddenly heard the clicking of the guns around him. Scanning the surroundings, there were at least ten British troops surrounding them. Ludwig and Kiku both put their hands up, surrendering.

"I'm going to be nice and give you two options, you run away and never come back here again." Arthur glared at the two. "Or I will kill you here and now."

"Let's retreat for now, we'll gather our forces and get Lovino back." Kiku whispered to Ludwig.

"Are you crazy? We can't just let him get kidnapped."

"Trust me they won't do anything serious to him, they need the intel."

Ludwig nods and they retreat back to the base, where they gathered up their troops to break into the British and American barracks.

* * *

But Arthur was way ahead of them and positioned troops around the area of the base, knowing that they would come back. He got a radio message saying that they are coming and he just smirked at his own ingenious.

"Those idiots are so predictable." He grinned.

"Major, the Japanese, German and Italian troops are invading the base." Alfred came in, forcing the way through the door, quickly informing the Brit.

"Don't worry, Alfred my dear boy, I've got it covered."

* * *

The duo got closer to their destination, Ludwig's ears pricked up picking up the rustling in the bushes and stopped in his tracks.

"They know." Ludwig growled through gritted teeth, balling up his fists.

"How? This is a surprise attack." Kiku asked, dumbfounded.

"Put your hands up and drop your weapons." A familiar voice shouted out from the bushes.

"It's him." Ludwig emphasised angrily.

The troops launched out of the bushes, surrounding them in a tight circle. No way of escape. The sensible idea was to raise their hands and drop their weapons as they attempted to run, but it was no use.

"Shoot to kill, men." Arthur ordered, stepping to the outside of the circle, an evil smile curled his lips. "I will not let more of them invade my base, they know where it is now." The area was overcome by a strange sense of silence and peace as the British soldiers raised their weapon up at the enemy. They squinted their eyes, bracing for impact from the gunfire, but none came. Instead they opened their eyes to be greeted by a familiar herd of troops countering the British, then that's when Ludwig saw it. The troops got distracted and ran to aid the others in fighting the mysterious army.

That familiar grey hair and red eyes, the memories flashed through him. His brother, Gilbert was right there, glaring into his blue eyes, flashing him a little grin under his hat.

"Hey there, luddy." Gilbert grinned and slammed his hand on Ludwig's shoulder, making him wince.

"Good to see you again." Ludwig smiled. "How have you been?"

"I'm alive." Gilbert chuckled.

"This is my brother, Gilbert and this is sergant Honda." Ludwig introduced.

"Nice to meet you."

"So, I'll catch up with you soon, my men need assistance, meet me by the German base at sundown ok?" Gilbert winked, rushing off.

Ludwig nodded and him and Kiku ran back towards the British and American base, there they gathered weapons and searched for the missing Lovino. They split up into two, that way they could get more area covered.

* * *

Ludwig scowered the area in search of the whereabouts of Lovino, a sense of panic stumbled upon him when he realised that Lovino wasn't in the prison or the interrogation area. Maybe he escaped? He sprinted outside, hoping to gain some answers to this whole situation and there he found it. The colour of his face drained away and he felt sick to his stomach, a trail of fresh blood, seems like it had been there for an hour or so. He followed it, his heart racing and his body tensing up.

"No, please, no." He panted. His stomach dropped and he felt like he was about to throw up, there he saw Lovino, lying against a tree with his front coloured with his own blood. Ludwig knelt infront of him and shook his shoulders, desperately calling out his name, but no response.

"Kiku, he's here." Ludwig shouted. Kiku rushed to where Ludwig was calling him from and stayed silent in shock. He felt Lovino's cheek, it was cold and clammy.

"How will we even face Feliciano with this?" Ludwig fell to his knees, tears dropping down.

"Wait, the troops are coming back." Kiku exclaimed. "We need to move." Ludwig moved to pick up Lovino and carry him, with such difficulty, his legs were still painful from the bullet wounds.

"Careful your injuries." Kiku helped him support Lovino's weight.

"There's still hope to save him." They carefully retreated to the nearest ally medical tent, as Ludwig's brother dealt with the following troops. They were so lucky and they were both grateful to Gilbert for saving them.


	9. Sadness

They finally got Lovino to a medical tent. Ludwig burst in, shouting for the doctor. The doctors rushed to Lovino's aid, placing him on the table, looking him over , frantically rushing around to gather vital equipment and Ludwig glanced over to see that they were performing CPR.

"He can't die." Ludwig muttered under his breath, shaking. "I should have been the one laying there, not him, it's all my fault." He balled up his fist in anger and gritted his teeth, as Kiku stayed in silence trying to hide the tears.

"Calm down, just let the doctors do their bit."

"We have a heartbeat." Ludwig caught one of the doctors saying, he forced his head around to look and they rushed over there.

"What's happening?" Kiku asked.

"Seems like we have a very weak heartbeat, we need to get him better care." One of the doctors explained. "We may have to airlift him to another hospital, but his condition is not stable enough." The intense feeling of hope flooded through the both of them, there is a chance that Lovino will regain consciousness.

"We'll wait 24 hours to see if his condition improves." The doctor said.

"Did you have a person in here called Vargas too?" Ludwig asked, nervously.

"Why, yes, but we airlifted him to another hospital."

"Oh, is he ok?"

"He was stable when he left here."

Ludwig was feeling rather uneasy about this, something didn't feel right about the whole thing. He was so stupid that he almost forgot to ask about Feliciano through all the rush of saving his brother. Kiku and Ludwig gave their leave and returned to their duties.

* * *

Evening came and Ludwig stood alone in a grass field next to the German barracks, looking at the orange glowing of the sky from the sunset which beamed down on the surroundings.

"This is where Gilbert said to meet me." Ludwig muttered to himself, whilst checking his watch, he was a little late to the given time.

"Freeze, German." A voice called from the distance, making him gasp in panic and throw his sense off guard. He raised his hands and bit his lip in frustration. Ludwig inspected their uniforms, Americans and a familiar face popped out at him from the soldiers who were surrounding him.

"Don't even try to fight them off." The familiar face said, a hint of intimidation in his voice.

"You're that person that was with that British Major." Ludwig brought up, trying to buy some time, hoping his brother would provide some assistance. Damn he was so stupid, why didn't he bring a weapon just in case?

"Correct." Alfred said. "You see one of our men overheard what someone told you, and with a little interrogation, one of the German soldiers spat it out of him about where the German base is."

_'This is bad, I need to tell my leaders as soon as possible.'_

"Shoot to kill, men." Alfred ordered.

Ludwig squeezed his eyes shut bracing for impact, he opened them just in time to see a flash of grey and the soldiers being fought off. He used this to an advantage and launched a punch straight into Alfred's cheek, unhinging his jaw and knocking him out cold. He grabbed the weapon and shot the remaining troops.

"Thanks Gilbert, I owe you alot." He said, raising his lips into a smile and then he ran ahead to search for more troops in the area. Gunshots echoed behind him and a terrible feeling clutched at his stomach and he immediately sprinted back, but what his eyes picked up left him in complete shock.

"Gilbert?!" He exclaimed, fighting off the men who were attacking him.

"You, pull your men back NOW." Ludwig glared at Alfred, who woke up disoriented and rubbing his head.

"No way." Alfred retorted, even though he had the barrel of the gun lodged in his eyesight.

Gilbert was covered in his own blood, bullet wounds all over his torso. Ludwig couldn't believe it, it felt like a dream. He attempted to make Gilbert comfortable and held him in his arms.

"Gilbert, speak to me." Ludwig sobbed, a crushing feeling bearing down on him.

"Don't cry, be strong for me." Gilbert spluttered out, his voice a little hoarse.

"Pull back men." Alfred shouted. He didn't want another person hurt like this.

"It's my time, I'm getting cold." Gilbert smiled peacefully.

"No, please don't speak like that, we're getting you help ok?" Ludwig desperately attempted to support his dying brother, but it was no use.

"MEDIC, PLEASE, ANYONE, HELP." Ludwig bellowed through his tears, his heart twisted as he discovered that his brother was slowly losing consciousness, opening and closing his eyes.

"No, please, stay awake, please." Ludwig pleaded, patting him gently on the cheek.

"Well, this is it. See you on the other side, bro." Gilbert whispered, the life disappeared out of his eyes, and Ludwig started to hyperventilate.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Alfred was getting up, in anger, he grabbed Alfred by the shirt.

"You killed my brother." Ludwig snarled, raising his balled up fist. To his surprise, Alfred fixed his eyes on the grass in regret. "Pull back your troops!"

"Do your worse, I deserve it." Alfred monotoned, sadly. "I did it to protect my country like you're doing."

Alfred landed hard on the ground, as Ludwig threw him with as much force as his anger could muster.

"I can't do this anymore, first the love of my life, then my brother." Ludwig hissed through gritted teeth, picking up a pistol and pulling it to his head.

"What are you doing?" Alfred panicked, wrestling the gun from his hand.

"I have nothing left to live for, this war has taken everything from me."

"Live on, please I don't want to take another life." Alfred sighed.

"YOU ALREADY HAVE." Anger poured into Ludwig, blinding his thoughts and perception, his whole body tensed up and he clenched his jaw.

"Take it easy, please it was an order. I don't like it any more than you."

"Just live on, for your brother and your lover." Alfred continued.

* * *

The blindness caused by that surge of anger disappeared and his head cleared, this American had a point, but he had one question annoying him. This soldier is such a high rank.

"Why do you do it? Why do you continue being in the army when you don't like killing people?"

"To protect someone special to me." Alfred answered . "If you're dead you can't protect them. Think of it like that."

Alfred's small speech actually made a lot of sense to Ludwig,although it seemed crazy but it worked. He sighed and propped a hand on his cheek, his special someone was left in a hospital bed clinging between life and death. Damn, he just wants this war to end so badly, no more innocent lives lost and he will be at peace with his beloved Feliciano.

"I know that because, I have someone special to me that I want to protect." Alfred broke the silence, then it hit him. This American was doing it for that Major who was interrogating him and the others.

"I'm Captain Jones." Alfred greeted, holding out his hand.

"I'm Corporal Beilschmidt." Ludwig gripped his hand tight and shook a nice firm handshake, his eyes still bloodshot and puffed up.

"I have to get going, nice meeting you, German." And with that , Alfred sprinted away, leaving Ludwig with a plethora of emotions flooding inside him. He didn't know whether to be angry, sad or just plain depressed, it was all too much to bare. He couldn't just be on all fours, kneeling over his brother and crying, that would make him a huge target. Instead, he picked a nearby yellow flower and placed it carefully on his chest.

"Goodbye, Gilbert." Ludwig sobbed silently, wiping the salty wondering tears off his face, splashing onto his brother's face, mixing with the redness of the blood. His stomach lurched with guilt and sorrow, he would never survive in this stupid war, letting his emotions get to him like this it'll turn him into an emotional wreck. He just decided to go back to the medical tent, hoping for some good news to make himself feel a little better and relieved.

"I'm sorry, but Lovino's condition has deteriorated, his heart stopped twice last night." The doctor said. Ludwig didn't know what to do, first his brother then Lovino, no he can't die, not like his brother did. How would he ever face Feliciano? Is his love even alive? Question started buzzing around in his head, all he could do was let the tears flow from his sky blue eyes.

"But, we have good news for you, we've heard that private F. Vargas is awake from his coma." The deep hole that was sinking in Ludwig's stomach was now collapsing even further, he was part relieved that the love of his life was well again, but how could Ludwig tell him that his brother was clinging to life and he might not make it.

"That's great." Ludwig smiled.

"There maybe no hope to save Lovino." The doctor said "But, Feliciano will be back on the battlefield soon."

"No, there must be something." Ludwig said, his voice breaking with panic.

"I'm sorry, all we got to do is wait to see if he pulls through."

* * *

That sentence was echoing through Ludwig's head all day, all he could do was look up to the clouds and let the thought drift through his mind. Even if the sound of gunfire and explosions reached his ears, making a deafening boom, the high pitch wailing of his ears ringing almost made him go insane. But he just had to beg his thoughts and body to just stay focused.


	10. Return

Feliciano returned back to the medic tent in no less than a month and the doctors said that the Italian will return to the battlefield in a weeks time under their attention in case his condition worsens. To Ludwig's surprise when he went to visit Lovino with Kiku, he didn't know that he had been brought back and shock just flashed through Ludwig's body when he saw his love sitting there in the hospital bed.

"Feli, my love." He stared at the person who called his name and a wide grin broke out on his face and a small blush surrounded his cheeks.

"Hey dear, hello Sargent." Feli greeted, still with the wide grin, he seemed in good spirits, but Ludwig still had that pit inside him he didn't want to upset Feliciano, not when he is like this.

"How are you holding up?" Kiku asked.

"Better, thanks." Ludwig just fixed his eyes on the floor, his heart pounding in his throat and refused to look him in his eyes.

"Ludwig?" He launched his head up to his lover calling his name in a worried tone, revealing his tired and bloodshot eyes, he had not slept a wink since yesterday. The German took a sharp inhale of breath and started to shake a little bit, Kiku left them alone so they could chat privately.

"Feli, I have to tell you something." Ludwig whispered, gripping onto his hand. Ludwig hid the emotions which was clouding his eyes, a deep pit formed inside his stomach and he slumped sadly. He sensed that Feliciano was staring at him and the overwhelming feeling of the pit in his stomach twisting alerted him that his love was very concerned.

"Look at me, what's the matter?" Feliciano asked, a hint of worry in his voice. Ludwig forced his head up to obey the order that he had given, his bloodshot eyes flooded with tears desperately wanting to get out.

"It's about your brother, Feli." Ludwig explained, the words that escaped his lips were no more than a whisper. "He's not in a good state at all." The news hit the Italian man with full force, his eyes wondered around the room trying to process everything. His brain couldn't think of a suitable thing to reply back and was trying to find the right words for it, his brother, Lovino he was dying?

"The doctors say he is unlikely to live. I'm sorry my love." Ludwig gripped on the stiffened Feliciano's hand, his whole body turned cold and pale in the shock and his eyes

"I could have saved him, I tried to."

"Show me where he is, please." Feliciano choked out through his sobbing.

"I'm not so su-"

"Please" Feliciano looked at Ludwig with pleading eyes.

"Ok, I'll show you." He sighed, giving in, it may be his only chance to see his brother again.

* * *

The German supported the Italian and led him towards his brother's bed. This brought back painful memories for Ludwig, seeing his brother dying right in front of him he knew exactly how Feliciano felt. Feliciano's eyes widened at the man laying peacefully in the bed, it seemed like he was sleeping.

"Lovino." Feliciano called his name, sprinting towards him, almost stumbling because of his injuries.

"Hey, be careful." Ludwig shouted, chasing after the careless Italian. Feliciano clenched onto his older brother's hand, tears flowing down his cheeks which fell on the floor.

"Lovino, can you hear me? Wake up please." Feliciano sobbed, running a thumb down his cheek.

"I need to get back to duties." Ludwig finally said, the memories flooding back into his head of Gilbert's last breath, watching the life disappear out of his red eyes was just too painful and to think Feliciano was going through the exact same thing, so heartbreaking to watch. Ludwig sprinted off without even thinking.

* * *

"Please, get back to your bed and rest." Ludwig heard the familiar voice softly order when he returned to the tent, a commanding yet soothing tone to it. He shifted himself towards the opening, seeing two figures in the orangey glow from the lantern, which the man who spoke was holding.

"No, my brother needs me."

"Feli? Why are you still here?" Ludwig said, stepping towards the figures. Feliciano turned to see his lover standing behind him, he fixed his brown eyes on him the orange glow illuminating them.

"He's been here all day." Antonio stated, lifting up the lantern.

"I want to be there for my brother." Feliciano said with a lot of anger built up in his voice, balling up his fists and gritting his teeth. He loves Ludwig and he doesn't like being mad at him nor Antonio, but at this moment, he wished that everyone would just leave him be to spend time with his brother.

"I know that, but you need rest most of all."

"I'm staying here, that's final!" Feliciano exclaimed, folding his arms in a dominant pose. Ludwig just stared at him, realising that all he needed was to stay with his brother, but at the same time he had to take care of himself.

"Very well then, do what you want." Ludwig sighed and exited the tent.

* * *

The sunrise painted the whole area in light, and the birds awakened, singing their tunes of the morning. The fresh dew of the grass hit Ludwig's nose , reminding him of home. He sighed, thinking back at what happened last night whilst in the trenches, guilt gnawed at his insides and he thumped his fist into the soft mud.

Ludwig came back to the tent that following night, this time, Kiku was there with him.

"Sargeant." Ludwig stood to attention and saluted. His eyes then peered down to the upset Italian beside him, his head fixed on the floor and slumped in his chair with a blank stare.

"It's not fair." The Italian whispered in a monotone, his voice breaking.

"What happened?" Panic set inside Ludwig and something squeezed on his stomach.

"I'm allowed back into the battlefield next week." Feliciano stuttered, tears once again returning and dropping down."But I want to be here to look after my brother."

"I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do about that." Ludwig hissed through gritted teeth, a pulse of anger jolted his body. He couldn't tell a lie but he was so livid with himself for not doing anything to save Lovino.

"It's just one of those things, we just have to have hope." Kiku commented, feeling rather upset at Feliciano being so distraught. "Do it for your brother." Feliciano thought about what Kiku had said, he laid next to his brother and held his hand whilst the words echoed through his head.

"Would that really make you happy Lovi?" He muttered to him. "I'm in more danger out there than I am in here."

"I guess I have to." Feliciano sighed, shakily, twitching with nervousness and he broke out in a cold sweat.

"I'll see you as often as I can, I promise."

* * *

Feliciano returned to battle, back to sitting in dirty trenches, hearing ear splitting explosions and the gunfire echoing in the distance. But then he spotted a German being surrounded by American troops through his scope, the panic set in. This man's life was in his hands now, his shaking started up again, making his aim wonder off. He hesistated and curled his finger on the trigger, begging the shaking to stop so he could save his ally. He pulled the trigger and the pull back launched against his shoulder and a bang rattled his ears, which temporarily deafened him. One of the Americans surrounding the German flopped on the floor, bleeding, the German twitched his head in different directions, trying to figure out where the shots had come from, at first, Feliciano couldn't believe he had done this. Then he aimed at the others, shooting them one by one.

Their screams bounced through the area, reaching his ears which made him want to mentally scream. Feliciano paused for breath, noticing the familiar broad shoulders and slicked back blond hair he was too pumped on adrenaline and too concentrated on killing those soldiers to even consider that it may had been his love.

"My saviour, I'm so proud of you." Ludwig said, his voice breaking a little with the emotions flowing out. Feliciano stared at Ludwig, something didn't seem right. His eyes weren't as soft before, they had definitely changed, they were almost blank and he seemed extremely distant. But as soon as Feliciano raised his arms up to comfort his love, a voice shouted out making them both snap out of their daydream.

"What do you think you are doing, corporal?!"

They snapped their heads in the direction of the voice to see a German and a Japanese soldier, pointing their weapons at them.

"We're your allies. Why are you raising your weapons against us?" Ludwig asked, puzzled.

"Corporal Beilschmidt. Get away from that traitor." One of them spat at the German.

"Traitor, what?" Ludwig trailed off and stared at the Italian, this couldn't be true, Feliciano seemed just as confused as him, the soldiers before them looked dead serious and weren't messing around with them.

"Get away!"

"Not until you tell us what happened." Feliciano exclaimed, his voice breaking and heart pounding in his throat, but he still managed to choke out those words.

"Shut up, traitor! Seems you weren't at the briefing this morning, Beilschmidt." The Japanese soldier commented. "This man, an Italian soldier is a traitor and must be dealt with. So step aside or we will assume you are a traitor too." Ludwig pushed him behind himself and gritted his teeth, waiting for the moment for them to shoot at them, but he didn't care, all he wanted was to keep his lover safe from this stupid pointless war. His veins were pumped with adrenaline, ready to fight, raising his fists which were so tightly coiled that his knuckles turned white.

"Very well. We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"Feli, it's best to just let them take us and not to argue, I'll protect you, I promise." Ludwig explained through gritted teeth. They lifted up their arms in surrender and let the soldiers take them, but all they knew is that they were about to be executed shortly.

_'What the hell did Feli do?'_ Ludwig growled in his thoughts, lowering his head._ 'What am I even thinking? He did nothing.'_

His thoughts were interrupted by Feliciano's coughing, his lungs were still injured and it brought on a stabbing pain which throbbed throughout his chest. He winced in pain and carried on walking, almost stumbling.

_'damn it sounds so awful, I hope he is ok'_ Ludwig thought, worrying about the pain he must have been in.

"Vargas did nothing wrong." Ludwig snarled at the two soldiers.

"None of your concern, Beilschmidt." One of them retorted back. "We can only tell you that our orders were to capture and kill enemy Italians."

"enemy Italians?" Ludwig emphasised in shock, blurting it out immediately.

"Yes, they are traitors, like you."

"Luddy, my brother is in danger." Feliciano whispered.

Ludwig's ears pricked up, that's the very last thing he wanted to hear and his thoughts mumbled on inside his head, he fixed his tired eyes on the floor and just let himself get lost in them. But he couldn't just give up. Gilbert wouldn't want that to happen neither would Feliciano and Lovino. He had to pull himself together and conjure a plan on how to get themselves out of this situation.


	11. Uniforms

A small ray of light focused on the ground of the dark, dusty prison ground which they sat on. Dust danced around Feliciano and Ludwig in the gleaming of the light, which illuminated the grey, plain and cold cell.

"What are we going to do? We're done for." Ludwig cried out and clutched his face, welcoming the tears that flowed out. The solitary confinement made the two of them slowly lose their minds in the darkness.

"Don't say that." Feliciano comforted and held him. "We'll stick together on this." Ludwig got up and stepped towards the ray of light, a false sense of hope flooded him as the brightness stung at his eyes, wishing he was outside, breathing in fresh air rather than this dusty, dark confinement.

"I can't take it. We're here in this shitty prison cell waiting for our deaths and we're just going to sit here and do nothing?!" Ludwig snarled and gritted his teeth, punching at the prison bars.

"Calm down, we'll figure something out. Just stay calm." Feliciano cried out in panic, he didn't like to see his love flustered like this.

Ahead of them, they saw a couple of figures emerge from the darkness.

"There's no way you'll take us." Ludwig spat, raising his fists as the footsteps echoed closer towards the two of them. Feliciano just hunched his arms over his legs and kept quiet, accepting his fate. After all, he was a great believer in that, there was nothing they could do to fight back. They were chained up.

"We're not here to hurt you." One of them finally said. Feliciano jumped up, that voice seemed very familiar and Ludwig widened his eyes at the two people standing before them, he squinted to see that one of them was wearing a German uniform.

"Antonio, Sargent Honda." Feliciano launched himself up happily, louder than anticipated.

"We're going to get you lot and the others out of here." Kiku whispered. "Just put on these."

* * *

Antonio gave them the German and Japanese uniforms as a disguise and unlocked the cell doors and their chains, freedom fluttered over them, finally they were outside those prison walls with the heavy chains off. The coast was clear for now, but there were still others to save, Antonio and the others frantically searched for the other set of keys, scowering through the papers and drawers of the office. But Ludwig's ears pricked up at the sound of footsteps tapping closer and closer and he alerted the others, but it was too late. There stood two German soldiers with another prisoner to add to the execution list, they raised their weapons at the troublemakers.

"What are you doing here?" Kiku stared at Antonio, who nodded, all of a sudden, they both launched themselves at Ludwig, who flailed his arms about in confusion and squirmed against their hold .After a fight, the two managed to pin the corporal down, who struggled more and more as he was pinned down to the desk,bearing his teeth.

"Are you all alright?" The German soldier asked. "We'll deal with this traitor, Sargent."

"Yes, thank you." The kind sargent replied. The two got off the corporal, who shot them both a glare, such traitors and liars, how very dare they betray his and Feliciano's trust. But all of Ludwig's thoughts were contradicted when he saw the Sargent knocking out both the guards with one swift blow to the head with a gun, he sighed in relief, knowing that it was all part of their plan.

"We have to move, find the keys to release these innocent people."

* * *

They searched the guard's pockets and found a set of keys and painstakingly used one by one, attempting to unlock the prison doors. The Italians then got told to dress up in the uniforms that were given to them and began to search for more innocent Italian soldiers that were in harms way.

"Kiku, we're going to see Lovino." Ludwig informed Kiku whilst they were both sprinting away.

"Right, I'll go and look for more soldiers then and I'll get back there later." Kiku said, passing an extra uniform at the trio.

They entered the tent where Lovino was being held and rushed to his side, he needed to be protected in case an ambush happened.

"What happened to him?!" Antonio gasped in shock. "Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"

"I'm sorry, we thought it'll be best if you would see it yourself." Feliciano said, looking down at his feet. He could sense that Antonio was crying,as his own eyes clouded up with his own tears, making his vision blurred.

"Some of us need to stay here and guard Lovi whilst the others go and look for Italians. We can't let anymore die!" Ludwig ordered.

"Antonio and me will stay here with Lovi." Feliciano said, still with his eyes on the floor.

"Ok, I'll go out with Sargant Honda to search."

Ludwig had a very weird feeling gnawing at him, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it knocked him about a little. Kiku stared at him, worrying about how he must be feeling, it must be so terrifying. He knew how that felt to see loved ones perish in front of him. But now he must focus on saving the lives of others caught up in this war.

Antonio and Feliciano just chatted with Lovino, hoping to achieve a reaction from him, anything, a small sign even a twitch to show that he was hearing the things they said. But nothing happened until the next day whilst the two were interacting with Lovino, Antonio noticed his hand twitching followed by his eyes flickering.

"Look! It seems like he's awakening!" Antonio cheered towards Feli, who beamed on hearing the news.

* * *

Lovino awoke to two familiar voices chattering, a bright light hit his eyes which made them sting, all he could see was two blurry figures standing above him. He attempted to speak to the figures, but all to no avail. The familiar voices noticed that he was awake and shouted something, he could swear that one of the people was his brother, but that's impossible.

_'I'm supposed to be dead.'_ Lovino thought to himself, vision getting clearer, he caught a glimpse of dark brown hair and beautiful green eyes.

Antonio, Feli. He so desperately wanted to call out their names, but nothing came out and he started becoming deaf and confused. Doctors crowded over him, distracting him from the people he cared most about.

Finally, after the doctors had left, he could talk again and the huge pressure in his chest lifted off. He coughed violently and wheezed, feeling rather weak and dizzy.

"Lovi?" Antonio said, staring at the coughing Italian.

"I'm ok." Lovino replied, that's all he managed to say it came out in a hoarse and weak tone.

"I'm so glad you're back." Feliciano excitedly exclaimed.

"So exhausted." Lovi whispered, closing his eyes.

"Yes, of course you need rest." Antonio soothed, holding at his hand.

* * *

Antonio and Feliciano both stayed outside the tent, talking with each other and not long into their conversation, there appeared Ludwig and Kiku both with three Italian troops wearing foreign uniforms.

"He's awake!"Feliciano jumped up, his voice pitching with excitement.

"That's great!" Ludwig smiled at the happy Feliciano.

"Wonderful!" Kiku exclaimed.

"I see you have brought others." Antonio commented.

"Yeah, the doctors gave us permission to keep them here."

"Feli, can you come outside with me?" Feliciano furrowed his brow at the unusual request Ludwig asked, but he shrugged it off and headed outside the tent.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your time with Lovi." Ludwig said, fixing his eyes on the floor so that he couldn't see his blank expression.

"It's alright, I know that he's awake so I'm content." Feliciano replied back, a little worried about the German before him with a vague expression. "So why did you ask-" His question was answered before he even finished it as Ludwig pulled him closer, holding him into a tight embrace.

"I've just missed you so close to me." Ludwig whispered into his ear, making him shudder and smile at the thought of Ludwig so close to himself, smelling his scent and feeling his strong arms around him. It felt right and safe.

"Likewise, my love." Their faces grew closer until their warm lips met, making them melt into each other, their thumping hearts and butterflies in their stomachs felt so uplifting. Feliciano never wanted this moment to end and they stood there, holding each other for a few minutes with the soothing sound of Ludwig's heartbeat caressing his ear as he rested on his chest. The cool breeze blew across their faces, everything around them seemed so calm and peaceful as they gazed into each other's eyes. So perfect, too perfect, a strange feeling jolted through Feliciano's body. He shrugged it off, but that feeling was still there, gnawing inside of him, And that's when it hit him.


	12. Missing

Gunshots echoed through the distance, it all happened so slow, a piercing sound thumped his ears. Feliciano's gut felt as though it had been yanked out, the colour drained from his face and his body just went cold and petrified in shock.

"My love, get out of here." A weak voice whispered from beside his head. Feliciano took his hands off Ludwig, violently shaking. The fresh colour of blood painted his hands, staring back at him, his heart pumped in his throat as his brain tried to process everything that just happened.

"No! No!" Feliciano choked out, as his confusion slowly turned to panic. The men standing with weapons were shouting at him, but he was too shocked and stunned to even notice. Drops of blood splattered on Feliciano's face whilst Ludwig coughed violently, he didn't even want to look at Ludwig's condition. Suddenly, Feliciano snapped his head around, focusing on the men who shot him with a murderous glare.

"I'll ask one more time, what are you doing with that traitor?!" Feliciano's body froze as Ludwig's body started to get limp and his laboured breathing ceased.

"Ludwig, LUDWIG." Feliciano screamed, begging him to answer back, but no reply.

_'shit, they found us!'_ He thought, mentally screaming and panicking, one thing that he remembered his Grandpa and Lovi telling him is to keep calm no matter what.

"He wanted to show me something." He choked out to the soldiers in his best German accent. The soldiers exchanged looks to each other curiously.

"But, I heard him say, 'only a couple of miles more'"

_'Come on, I need to get to him quickly.' _Feliciano's pent up emotions were just overwhelming, a mixture of them were all intertwining inside him, clouding up his eyes.

"Very well, there is nothing more we can do here, this traitor scum is as good as dead anyway." The soldiers spat, marching off. Those words shot through him, how dare they talk about Ludwig like that. Feliciano tore off a part of his uniform and put pressure on his wounds.

"Don't die, please." Feliciano sobbed, shouting for help. The medics in the tent came to the aid along with Antonio and Kiku. "You're my everything, who will protect me if you go, we promised to protect each other, right?"

"What happened?" Antonio gasped in shock, as Kiku's brown eyes widened.

Feliciano was too distraught to even speak, all that came out was stuttered words that made no sense whatsoever.

* * *

The medics brought him into the tent and dealt with the bullet wounds, as Feliciano put his feet on the chair,keeping his head down. He was absolutely livid with himself.

_'it's all my god damn fault.'_ He wrapped his arms around his legs and balled up his fists until, digging his nails in, he didn't care if it was painful it was what he deserved anyway.

"Feli?" A voice called out his name, but he didn't respond. "It's not your fault." He felt an arm go around his shoulder, making him wince, he pulled his head out of his arms and stared at the person who was hugging him through his tearful eyes. Green met brown and a small smile appeared on his face.

"It is my fault." He muttered back. "If he hadn't had come outside with me, Antonio."

"It would have happened anyway, they would have infiltrated the whole tent."

"What?!"

"He's stable, so if you want to see him." The doctor informed, as Feliciano sprinted towards the direction of his bed.

"Ludwig!" Feliciano called and Antonio caught up with him.

"Hey my love, I'm so sorry." He hoarsely whispered, raising a shaky hand to his cheek and Feliciano grabbed it, feeling his heart thumping in his throat. A lone tear rolled onto Ludwig's finger.

"Don't cry for me."

"But it's all my fault." Feliciano said, his voice breaking.

"Please, don't blame yourself, it's not." Ludwig whispered back at the stressed Italian. "I'm alright now." The Italian nodded, as Ludwig stroked his cheek to comfort him a little, the heaviness of the anxiety seemed to lift off his shoulders.

"You need to rest."

"I don't care about that now."

"I'll stay here by your side, just please rest."

Ludwig gave in to his heavy, sore eyes and let his body fall into a deep rest, he's been so exhausted since this war began. He felt so secure with his lover next to him, gripping firmly at his hand, feeling Feliciano's soft hand carress at his forehead and gently at his hair. Then, Feliciano put his lips on Ludwig's, he pulled back and whispered a goodnight and laid on the bed next to him.

* * *

Morning came and he was awoken by the sunlight peeking through his eyelids, he opened them and a piercing pain shot through his cheek, launching himself up, he investigated the tent, yawning. He awoke not next to his love where he fell asleep, but in one of the beds. He scanned the tent, hoping to gain some clues, he pressed his finger against his aching cheek and winced in pain. Ludwig's and Lovino's beds were empty, his heart pounded in his chest and his throat knotted up.

_'Were they... No I can't think that way_' Feliciano shook his head of those stupid thoughts and continued seeking answers. He went straight up to one of the doctors to ask what happened to them.

"I'm sorry, we were only able to save a few." The doctor replied.

"Save a few?" He repeated, a deep hole appearing in his stomach, sinking even further as every second the pause was between the doctor's replies felt like a lifetime.

"Yes, there was an ambush and the soldiers took most of the patients, we had to move." His stomach sunk and suddenly, it all occured to him, it flashbacked to him trying to save his love and brother from those soldiers, but all to no avail and he got knocked out in the process. He thought his just had a horrible dream, but he confirmed that it wasn't a dream and he sighed, looking at his feet.

_'Why didn't I do more to stop them?'_ Feliciano thought, tearing up, getting really frustrated with himself he decided to vent his anger by standing outside the tent, breathing in the fresh air. He wished so bad that he had some paper and a pencil just to draw to relax him, sighing , he reminisced back to when Ludwig and him were on the train and closed his eyes, a small smile curled on his lips and he calmed down quickly. But he missed Ludwig and his brother more than drawing or anything. That just tore him up inside and messed with his head, feeling like he could just give up and let this war take him.

* * *

Feliciano goes each day blanky and with no emotion whatsoever, he became very distant and Kiku and Antonio started worrying about the Italian who locked himself away day by day. He didn't eat much and he started fainting due to high demand of exercise on the battlefield. Luckily, there were always people there willing to carry him to the tent.

_'Why couldn't they just leave me?'_ Feliciano cried in his thoughts, desperately wanting to let the tears out over someone's shoulder.

"Hey Feli." A familiar voice rang in his ear, Antonio came to visit him "How are you holding up?" Feliciano winced a little, they used to call him Feli, the painful memories awoke from the lock and he began to silently let the tears drip down.

"I understand things are hard, but they wouldn't like to see you like this." Antonio explained, trying to be rational

"I've just given up, this stupid war has taken everything I love most." Feliciano stuttered, a monotone to his voice.

"I know, it must be unbearable, but people are losing their loved ones over this war too and we need it ended before anyone else gets hurt."

"We don't even need this war in the first place." Feliciano growled, hurling his fist into the blankets.

"You're right, but it's not up to us." Antonio sighed, shaking his head.

"Hello, is everything ok?" A quiet voice appeared.

"Sargeant?"

"Hello Feliciano, are you better?" Kiku asked. "Hello Antonio."

"No, I've just given up."

"Don't give up, you'll get past this." Kiku sighed sadly. "You should really eat something." Feliciano shook his head to his request, whilst the tears were forming in his eyes making the two feel bad about how they probably can't do a thing to help.

"Listen, we'll tell you if we find anything, ok?" Kiku comforted the Italian

"There's still hope." Antonio grinned, trying to get him to just smile, but he just sat there with blank eyes, staring at the wall.

_'I didn't have the strength to stop them, what am I supposed to do? They could be...' _Feliciano trailed off in his thoughts, even thinking it was just too much to bare he gritted his teeth, frustrated with himself.

_'I'm useless.' _He ripped his eyes away from the wall and glanced at the two of his friends who stared back worried about him.

"Be strong, ok?" Antonio said to him softly, patting on his shoulder "I've got to go." He exited the tent with his head down, worried about the whole situation.

"I just wish there was something I could do for him." He muttered under his breath, as he stepped out the tent. He felt guilt growling inside him, he had to lie about leaving because it was just too upseting for him.

"We'll be right here if you need anything." Kiku soothed, holding at his hands. "I'm sorry, I have to return to duty."

* * *

Feliciano nodded and soon, he was left alone with nothing but the echoing of the thoughts inside his own head.

"What am I even thinking?" He whispered under his breath. He investigated the area, seeing nobody about, he exited his bed slowly and steadied himself. Feliciano's legs were like rubber bands and a feeling of dizziness hit him hard as he stumbled, trying to regain his balance.

_'I don't want to be useless and stuck here, whilst the others are searching, I have to try for them.' _The colour of his face drained out and he turned a ghostly pale, breathing got heavy and beads of sweat glistened on his forehead. He sprinted towards a direction, breathing in the fresh air and the cool breeze blowing against his face. The Italian shouted out their names, as he searched, not caring about the burning feeling erupting through his legs and the stars spinning around his vision.

But, he found absolutely nothing, he paced himself as the dizziness crawled upon him yet again and the stars invaded his vision, getting worse.

"Shit, not now, please, just a little further." He murmured, pushing himself to the limit, trying to force himself from slipping into unconsciousness. He approached the main base, where they first came into this hell, where all the peace was shattered. The painful memories came flooding back of when they both promised to protect each other from harm, a sharp pain of guilt lurched at his stomach. He broke a promise to the one he really loved, shaking his head of those painful memories, he launched himself forward as fast as he could.

* * *

He begged in his mind to keep going and going until he collapsed on the wet grass, as he wheezed, violently coughing, raising a shaky hand. His sight started blurring as he gulped in the air his lungs hungered for.

"No, I can't sleep here." He begged his body, shaking his head trying to keep himself awake. But he just lost himself completely and his sight fogged up around the edges.

"Now is not the time!" Feliciano growled at his body, forcing himself back up but a stabbing pain spread through his chest.

'Shit.' Feliciano cursed 'I must be dying.'

The darkness slowly ate away at his vision to a point where he could no longer fight it off.

"Goodbye Lovi and Ludwig." He mumbled under his breath, weakly, letting the darkness come and take him.


	13. Fate

A young soldier was on duty on the enemy lines in amidst of all this, he was a spy, gathering intel and wearing the typical spy outfit, consisting of a black jacket with tons of pockets, a long sleeved pale shirt and thin trousers. His long blond hair flicked with the cool breeze, he just came back from the German base and was heading back to his own with great news. Until something caught the blond's attention; an auburn haired man laying there in the middle of nowhere looking incredibly pale and weak. He checked whether the man was still alive, a faint pulse tapped against his fingers. A jolt of guilt hit his stomach, he seemed so fragile and hopeless. The blond decided to lift him up on his shoulder and carry him back swiftly to the allied tent.

* * *

"This guy needs help!" The blond exclaimed, barging through the Captain's quarters.

"Williams! We've been waiting for you." Alfred launched himself up from the desk and summoned the remaining medics.

"What did you find out, Williams?"

"I gathered intel on the Germans and their strategies, sir."

"Good, tell me more."

"The Italians have broken their alliance between the triparte pact." Matthew happily stated towards his superior.

"Well, seems like the Axis are in deep trouble." Alfred chuckled. "Who was that person you rescued?" Matthew fixed his deep purple eyes on the floor, not wanting to reveal too much.

"Well, he's an Italian, but since his people broke the agreement, we would consider them our allies now."

"Fair enough."

* * *

A bright light hit Feliciano's eyes as he slowly opened them and he squinted at the people standing over him again, trying to put the puzzle pieces together in his head. To his right, he heard two people chatting, they sounded like two Americans, but he could tell one voice had a hint of softness to it.

"What happened?" He hoarsely spoke to the people above him in the best American accent he could muster up.

"Don't bullshit us, Italian." One of the medics harshly blurted out. "One of our top spies rescued you. You were found passed out apparently." Feliciano kept quiet, not having a clue on how to even respond to this situation. There he was being healed by their enemy who could have just left him to die. It was hard processing this all in his brain, just so unbelievable that a few hours earlier he had been ordered to kill these people.

* * *

The Italian just laid there, resting until the evening when everything quietened down, when he got an unexpected visitor.

"Hello there, soldier." A soft voice he heard earlier came from his left.

"Hello, Mr..?" Feliciano scowled in confusion, not knowing who this person was.

"I'm Matthew Williams and you are?"

"Feliciano Vargas."

"How are you feeling?"

"I could be better. Who are you?"

"I am the spy that saved you. I trust you are an Italian soldier."

Feliciano gulped, who know what they did to enemies here, he let out a deep sigh and locked eyes with the purple eyes of his saviour, surely he would have left me to die if he wanted me killed.

"That's right, sir."

"We're not here to hurt you, so don't worry." Matthew soothed, sensing the tenseness of the Italian in front of him. Feliciano relaxed a little, letting out a deep sigh of relief.

"Well, I'm not sure whether you heard, but your country broke the alliance." He continued.

"What?" Feliciano's voice broke with panic "Meaning what?"

"It means what it means that's probably why you were wearing a foreign uniform."

"That's correct, they called us traitors." Feliciano gritted his teeth, remembering that moment where Ludwig got shot.

"Yes, I heard that piece of information behind enemy lines." Matthew winked confidently. "The reason why I saved you is because you looked really hopeless."

"Oh?" That last sentence caught Feliciano's attention.

"You looked like that Italian that was here a few weeks back. Lovino was it?"

"Do you know where he is?" Feliciano shot a glare towards the blond, how dare he speak so calmly about his brother when they had done this to him.

"Unfortunately not." Matthew sighed, as his expression saddened "You Italians are not an enemy to us."

"The Major said a lot of nice things about you which your brother had said you know."

"Really?" Feliciano blinked, confused.

"I felt sorry for you and when I saw you lying there, I knew it was fate." Matthew whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion.

Feliciano couldn't believe at what he was hearing, but hopefully this will give him a glimmer of hope of ever finding his brother and lover.

* * *

Matthew and him conversed throughout the evening until he had to return to duties and told him to get plenty of rest so he can recover. Feliciano switched off the lantern beside his bed and shut his eyes, waiting on the right moment. His eyes needed to get used to the darkness surrounding him before leaping back out into searching for his loved ones. He took his lantern in case he needed some light and headed on his way, attempting to find a solution or some sort of lead.

Investigating, he found a building not too far away from the tent, still a little weak, he stumbled towards that, desperate for some answers. His heart was pounding in his chest and his legs felt like rubber bands, but all the Italian could do was stay calm, forehead glistening with beads of sweat, he inched forward and found the entrance. The door was locked, sighing he mentally slapped himself for thinking that it would be too easy just to go straight in, especially at this hour. But, he still tried and picked the lock in which Lovino had taught him the tricks of the trade when he was younger. It still was engraved into his brain all these years later.

_'Thank god you're a locksmith, Lovi.'_ Feliciano chuckled in his mind as he fiddled with the pins of the locks. Finally, he got the combination of the pins right and entered slowly and quietly as possible into the building.

* * *

He got into one of the offices and began to investigate thoroughly, searching through endless amounts of paperwork and files which contained information regarding prisoners and even allied soldiers.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing here?" A voice came from his left. Feliciano's ears pricked up and his body froze, his heart thumped and a knot twisted around his throat. He hesitantly forced his head around to see a British officer.

"Oh, I got lost and wanted to search for clues on where I am." Feliciano lied in a British accent.

'What a stupid excuse.' He hissed in his head.

"Who are you?" The officer spat, glaring into Feliciano's eyes.

"I'm Private Reganald, sir." He confidently replied back, as though he recited it.

"What are you doing in a German uniform, then?" The soldier narrowed his eyes with suspicion.

"Oh, I came back from enemy lines and..."

"Follow me."

Feliciano was surprised at that sudden request this officer gave, somewhat doubtful about how easy this was. But, Feliciano thought it was best to comply with him and see what happens.

After a while of following the soldier, he stopped in his tracks and stood completely still sending a whirlwird of panic inside Feliciano.

"You're a really good liar, aren't you?" He growled.

He felt this heart thump in his chest and emotions of panic started flooding in, not thinking clearly, he didn't know what to reply.

"What do you mean? I'm-" Feliciano choked the words out as calmly as possible, ignoring the overwhelming emotions.

"What's your code?"

"4375855,sir" He retorted, thinking on his feet.

_'It'll really be the end if he figured out who I really was.' _Feliciano took the glare of the other officer standing before him, furrowing his brow, not sure whether the officer would believe him or not, seconds felt like hours, as he waited on his reply.

"We don't have are you?"

_'Was this a trick to see how I reacted?'_

"I told you I'm Private Reg-"

"You aren't fooling anyone!" He snarled, cutting off Feliciano's sentence.

* * *

There was a slight pause as Feliciano felt his world crashing down on him, the emotions he repressed came exploding out and he wheezed as his heart thumped frantically.

"You've certainly gone quiet. Now tell me who you really are or I'll torture it out of you." He threatened, a small smile curled on his lips. His hate filled glare pierced through Feliciano, making him feel extremely intimidated.

"I'm Private Vargas of the Italian regiment." He sighed, feeling his stomach drop, regret gnawing at his mind, but there was no use hiding it any longer. Feliciano was not surprised as he felt himself being lifted up by the shirt and slammed against the hard wall, a shockwave of pain diffused through his entire body, making him shudder and gasp.

"What's a scumbag like you doing here?" He spat, shooting a glare straight into his eyes.

"I want to find two people who are very important to me."He explained as clearly as possible so that it was obvious he was telling the truth. But a hint of panic and nervousness broke in his voice.

"No, you're a spy you disgusting rat, spies like you need to be gotten rid of."

Feliciano felt a massive pressure mount up in his head as the officer gripped his hands around his neck making him thirst for air. He struggled, flailing his arms about and digged his nails into the soldier's flesh.

"Please." Feliciano wheezed, staring at the soldier with pleading eyes. The officer still remained there wrapping his fingers around his neck without any mercy at all, even after the Italian's desperate plea.

* * *

The darkness was invading his vision again, eating away at the corners , wishing so badly that he was back home with his brother and Ludwig, drawing, painting and cooking, the things he loved most in life. He briefly shut his eyes, imagining all this, somehow the panic settled down and the British officer in front of him no longer bothered him. A sense of euphoria flooded into his body.

_'No I can't, not yet.'_

The grip around his neck gradually weakened and then stopped entirely. Everything hit him and he snapped back from his dream like state into reality, gulping in as much air as possible.

"What is this fuss going on here?" A voice appeared with footsteps echoing throughout the hallway.

"Sir, this is a German spy, I was dealing with him myself." The officer infront of Feliciano explained, saluting the man who just spoke.

"Don't worry, he's an Italian and they are no threat to us."

Feliciano forced his head up, his vision still blurry, to take a look at the person who saved his life. The unknown officers were bickering, but the contrast between the two uniforms were outstandingly noticeable. The officer who saved him obviously seemed a higher rank to the other one, he peered down at the Italian, his green eyes connecting with his brown eyes, almost piercing him.

"Hello Italian, please state your name and rank." The Officer knelt down in front of him, getting down to eye level. "You're dismissed, sergeant, I'll take over from here." The Sergeant saluted and then marched away, footsteps getting further and further away.

"It's Private Vargas, sir."

"Vargas, huh? Any relation to a man called Lovino?" Alarm bells started ringing in Feliciano's head and he managed to make a connection like a switch was flipped inside his brain.

"Who are you? You're the one that almost killed my brother aren't you?" Feliciano blurted out, forgetting the fact that the person in front of him saved his life.

"That's correct, but I had a job to do I didn't like it at all." The officer sighed, a deep prod of guilt poking at his insides.

"I'm sorry, I just acted on impulse."

"That's alright, my name is Major Arthur Kirkland." Arthur greeted, trying to gain the man's trust.

Tears welled up inside Feliciano's eyes, he desperately wanted to cry there and then. The pain of missing the two most important people in his life ate away at him everyday, it was just all too much to bare. The emotions were itching to come out until it became unbearable.

"Listen, I know you're a sensitive person, your brother told me that." Arthur smiled, feeling the tearing pain of regret bore inside of him.

"Where is my brother? Where is he?"

"Unfortunately, not here."

"You're lying."

"Does this look like a face of a liar?" Arthur said sternly, scowling his green eyes at the Italian's eyes to ensure he was serious.

"I need to find another person by the name of Ludwig Beilschmidt, have you seen him?"

"I don't know where either of them are, I'm sorry. But I'll notify my men of them." Arthur sighed, wishing he could be of more help. "But I can't help you with that German." Feliciano just silently cried, the tears rolled down his soft cheek.

'I bet I'll never see them again.'

"Why not?" Feliciano asked, his stomach lurching.

"Well, he's an enemy." He mentally slapped himself, of course he wouldn't just help to save an enemy.

"Thank you, sir." Feliciano pulled a small smile at the British officer, a feeling of hope came over him. Arthur gave Feliciano a helping hand to his feet and led him back outside of the building.

"I am very grateful you saved my life."

"Don't mention it, it was the right thing to do."

* * *

They both just stood there, not knowing what else to say to each other, the cool breeze brushed against both their faces. The trees rustled, there seemed to be complete silence surrounding them, no gunshots, no ear rattling explosions, no roaring of plane and tank engines, just the fresh air and the smell and sounds of the countryside enlightening their senses. Was this war over? Then, the scratching of the radio burrowed into Arthur's ears, his expression changing from smiling to shock upon hearing the message more clearly and then he sprinted back inside the building.

Feliciano followed him, a little concerned about that radio message.

"What's wrong?" He asked, only to be greeted by a bewildered Major.

"Major..." Alfred exclaimed, barging into the office.

"I know, Jones." Arthur hissed through gritted teeth.


	14. Attack

Arthur gulped and his stomach backflipped whilst the Italian looked about puzzled about why the two of them were so restless and uptight.

"We need to get out of here, the Prussian army are advancing to our base." With that, the trio grabbed as many weapons, ammunition and rations as they could carry in their rucksacks.

Arthur led the other two out of the base, abandoning it before the Prussians could capture them, adrenaline pumping throughout their bodies they kept sprinting until Arthur ground to a halt.

"No, we can't run from this, we need to stand and fight."

"I agree, let's do this." Alfred nodded as Feliciano followed them back, retracing their footsteps, the gunshots appeared from the distance, coming from different directions.

"I don't think we can settle this peacefully." Arthur sighed.

"Maybe we can." Feliciano retorted, shrugging. Arthur fixed his eyes onto Feliciano's, that fiery passion of peace burnt into his eyes was apparent.

"We've got to give it a shot." Alfred smiled.

"Yes, we could use your kindness, Private." Arthur grinned at the Italian.

"I agree, kindness can be extremely useful in unexpected circumstances." Alfred commented.

Feliciano just stared at them both, absolutely stunned that his kindness can be an advantage to soldiers at war.

'Bloodthirsty no mercy killers' his Grandpa used to comment about the soldiers. But the evidence was crystal clear that not all soldiers were like that.

"Sure with Vargas' kindness, Captain Jones' bravery and my interrogation skills, we can put a stop to this." Arthur said.

* * *

They sprinted until they stumbled upon an enemy with a gun nozzle staring down at them.

"Drop your weapons and surrender, men." This soldier had a completely different uniform to all the other enemies that they have encountered, consisting of red blue and white.

"Listen, we want to settle things peacefully." Arthur explained, dropping his weapon followed by Alfred and Feliciano putting their weapons on the ground and raising their hands.

"That's a good attitude."

Suddenly, shouts of help and pain echoed through the woodland, there was a Prussian soldier who was injured, a gaping wound on his arm. Feliciano raced over to the Prussian man groaning in pain, tore off some of his uniform and wrapped it just above the wound as a torniquet.

"See, we don't want to hurt your people or any person for that matter any more."

"This is a trick I bet, I don't trust you lot." The man launched a glare at the soldiers standing before him. Feliciano supported the soldier and took him towards the nearest medical tent to get treatment for the bleeding wound.

"I will do what it takes to protect the Major." Alfred exclaimed, stepping between Arthur and the gun.

"Captain, I'm fine I can deal with this myself." Arthur snarled, a little annoyed.

"Listen, don't you have someone special to return to?" He continued, pushing Alfred aside.

"And that is your business because?" The soldier's voice broke and his body got tense, Arthur stared at him, clearly he hit a nerve.

"You want to still live to see them? Everyone else can too, just let us see your leaders."

"Hey!What is happening over here?" A deep voice boomed in German. "A British and American soldier, don't move!"

"Wait, we want to see your leaders to settle this peacefully."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, you can tie our hands together or something if that makes you feel secure." Alfred commented.

"Fine, if you want to so bad, I'll take you, but I've got my eyes on you two." The blond soldier agreed.

* * *

Soon after, Feliciano came back from helping that defenceless injured soldier, hoping that he'll be better and praying that nobody else in this war gets hurt. But his thoughts were interrupted by his eyes catching blond when he stepped towards Alfred and Arthur.

"Ludwig?" Feliciano muttered under his breath. "I must be seeing things." He rubbed his eyes just to make sure, but the figure was still there.

"Ludwig!" He repeated, a lot louder than intended and he just launched himself towards him.

"That's corporal to you, don't come any closer." Ludwig threatened, a murderous intent burning in his eyes which shocked Feliciano. He could feel his heart thumping against his chest and the butterflies in his stomach woke up.

_'This couldn't be him, Ludwig would never speak to someone like that, this is not the man I fell in love with.'_

"He's with us." Alfred shouted.

"What has he done to you?"  
"Don't worry, he's going to take us to his leader."

"I don't trust him at all." Arthur whispered to Alfred.

A small jolt of pain shot through Feliciano's arm, as Ludwig forcefully grabbed him and twisted his arm behind his back, making him groan in pain. The tears stung Feliciano's eyes and he started to shake out of fear and the shock of the pain, he admitted it to himself that he was really scared.

"I've got my eyes on you too, private." He snarled at the Italian soldier, who developed an uneasy feeling, panicking.

_'He has changed drastically, why? I've never done anything wrong to him, have I?'_ Those questions flooded Feliciano's mind, but was interrupted by Ludwig tightening the grip on his arm, making him wince in pain and grit his teeth.

"Ludwig, you're hurting me." He groaned.

"It's corporal, there's no rope left, so I have to restrain you like this."

"Geez, he's a douche." Alfred whispered to Arthur again.

Feliciano decided it was best not to argue with the seemingly pissed off Ludwig.

_'Is he putting on an act?'_

"You know this soldier, Vargas?" Arthur mumbled to Feliciano.

"Yes, I do."

"Hey! Quit talking!" Ludwig commanded.

* * *

They arrived at a base surrounded by greenish tents the sunset painted a pink glow on the area. Feliciano just sighed, he loves watching sunsets, but he wasn't in the best of moods for enjoying one right now.

"Stay out here, I'll talk to the leader." Ludwig ordered "And you're coming in with me." He scowled, gripping Feliciano by the arm and pushed him inside the tent. He roughly pulled the Italian towards the leader of this operation, saluting him. A colourful array of badges and medals struck Feliciano, smart blue and red uniform. This is the Prussian military, a whole new division to what both of them were used to.

"Good afternoon, Corporal. What brings you here?"

"Afternoon, sir, I have three people here to see you to make some sort of agreement, but I don't trust them."

"What are their division and ranks?"

"A British Major, An American Captain and this one is an Italian private, sir."

"Very well, bring them in, I'm interested to hear what they have to say."

"Yes, sir."

Arthur arched his back as the nozzle of the gun dug and poked into it, forcing him to go in the direction. Shortly after they entered the tent, the trio felt eyes watching them and the tent fell silent.

"Let them go, Beilschmidt, they won't do anything here." The Commander ordered, confidently.

Ludwig stepped aside and exited the tent, getting lost in the fuzzy white clouds, getting hypnotised by the slow movement of the cloud's journey. All but one thought came to mind.

_'What a monster I am hurting Feli like that.'_ He sighed and fixed his eyes on the floor, holding back the tears. But he couldn't bare the thought of him being so far away from the cute Italian. It almost killed him inside and that was his only chance of pulling him closer and feeling their bodies connecting.

* * *

After a while, the three stepped out of the tent, cheerful. Ludwig let out a sigh of relief, that was good news.

"What happened?" Ludwig asked enthusiastically.

"They have agreed to an Armistice." Alfred cheered.

"But seems like they want to talk with our superiors." Arthur added.

"It's some sort of hope isn't it?" Ludwig said, as Arthur nodded at that question. Ludwig stared at his love, noticing him acting nervous and scared, twitching at everything he said.

"What's wrong, Private?" He asked the Italian, twitching upon hearing his name being called by the scary German. Ludwig mentally slapped himself, of course, how could he be so idiotic? Feliciano was damn petrified of him because of what he did to him earlier and the thought came out in a sigh of realisation.

"Everything ok?" Alfred worriedly asked at the Italian, who replied with a reluctant nod. He fixed his blue eyes on Feliciano, even more concerned and guilt gnawed at his insides.

"Are you worried about your brother?" Arthur queried, softly.

Feliciano pulled his eyes from the floor to shoot a glare at the three of them, what a stupid question, of course he was worried about his brother and he missed him and the others back at the tent. His thoughts overwhelmed him he felt like he had no control over his whole body, which made him get ready to run but was stopped in his tracks.

"No, private, it's too dangerous." Ludwig ordered, a hint of desperation in his voice as he gripped his hand, Feliciano attempted to struggle off the tight grip but his fingers curled around Feliciano's hand even firmer.

"Stick with us, please, we'll find your brother for you." Ludwig begged. But the Italian was overflowing with an uneasy feeling, why the hell should he help the ones that almost killed his brother and hurt the ones he loves.

"We've changed, Feliciano we want to help others get out of this war." Alfred clarified.

"Exactly, just please calm down and think, I bet Lovino m-"

"Don't you dare say his name." Feliciano spat, tears stinging at his eyes.

"That's enough, Vargas, sure they did terrible things but we all did, they are trying to help us and have turned over a new leaf." Ludwig growled.

"They were the ones who took him."

"No, we were unaware of this." Arthur defended, telling the truth.

"I had to watch my brother die in my arms because of Jones over there, but I don't hate him since it was his orders and he hated to do it and I'm sticking with them because it might be a way out to stop others suffering like this." Ludwig spoke, trying to get through to the Italian whilst staying strong.

"Your brother? He's dead?" Feliciano choked out in realisation. The urge to hold each other close became apparent. No wonder he seemed so uptight and different like something heavy had clamped onto his shoulders. But, Ludwig was the first to give in to his emotions and threw his arms around Feliciano, embracing him. Tears rolled down his cheeks, as all the emotions he repressed came flooding out in the arms of his lover.

"I'm so so sorry." Feliciano sighed whilst the silent tears flowed from his eyes.

"It's not your fault, we'll find your brother I promise." Ludwig whispered into his ear, getting closer into the embrace. He was so ecstatic having his lover's body close to his, feeling his warmth and his nose clinged onto that sweet familiar scent, easing him for a second. A feeling of regret and guilt wrenched Alfred and Arthur's insides as the two conveyed their emotions because of what they did to them. They pulled back and stared deeply into each other's eyes and kissed, not caring at the other's around them who might see them. They were soon going to go home and be together for real.


	15. End

**A/N: So thanks for the reviews and taking the time to read this. I've had alot of fun writing it. The Epilogue is coming soon, so it's not really ending yet. Enjoy!**

* * *

Their superiors agreed to go ahead with the signing of the peace treaty at the Armistice after much negotiation about whether it should be executed. They met up in a neutral place and signed it, making the soldiers cheer after they had heard the news. This war is finally coming to an end.

"Feli? I just realised something." Ludwig choked out, his gut screaming at him to mention it.

"Yes?" The Italian raised his head to the German calling his name, softly and looked into his smiling, tired eyes.

"What if your brother escaped? And ran back to the base?" A wave of panic flooded over him, his stomach lurched and his heart pounded in his head so loud that he could barely hear. He pulled his head down to hide the emotions that clouded his hazel eyes. Why didn't he think of this before? His mind then skipped to whether Antonio and Kiku were well. Ludwig gritted his teeth, feeling disgusted with himself that he couldn't do a thing to save Lovino from the clutches of the Major.

"Could be,let's check." Feliciano replied, still fixing his eyes on the floor. He had to admit, he wasn't feeling very optimistic about finding him.

"I'm sorry, I had a chance to save him, I even offered for him to take me instead." Ludwig explained, a lone tear falling from his cheek whilst he voice broke.

"You tried everything you could, I don't blame you." Feliciano smiled, trying to comfort the German.

* * *

They left the area to search for Lovino, desperately sprinting towards the main base and adrenaline pumped through their bodies, hoping to gain some answers. They didn't care if their legs were burning as they were fueled by the thought of getting Lovino back. Feliciano gritted his teeth until he tasted the flavour of iron from the blood which tingled on his tongue. Ludwig stared at him, a worried expression on his face, he couldn't help but worry about how livid he seemed, but he was not surprised. He didn't want to waste energy by discussing about it.

* * *

Finally, they reached the base and began searching all around for a sign of Lovino whilst shouting his name and panting violently, thirsting for oxygen. They searched every inch of the place, but all to no avail, not even a hint was found.

"The medic tent." Feliciano suggested.

"Right, let's check there too."

"Lovino!" Ludwig called out whilst entering the medic tent.

"Please if you're here, say something." Feliciano shouted, his voice breaking with panic.

"Feli, is that you?" A weak voice appeared from the back. That familiar voice hit Feliciano like a ton of bricks, could it really be? His heart thumped as he stepped nearer to where the voice came from, it felt like forever. Every footstep felt like hours. There he was greeted by his brother, sitting on a chair next to one of the beds. Feliciano's happy grin turned into shock as he noticed that Lovino's forearm was bandaged up. It was soaked with fresh blood and patches of bruises covered his face. Ludwig ran up behind Feliciano, catching up, catching a glimpse of dark brown hair. The German sighed with relief seeing the brother alive, but covered in painful injuries.

"Oh god, what happened to you?" Feliciano asked, his voice shaking with shock.

"Fucking American interrogation methods, they got me good." Lovino growled through gritted teeth, completely distraught. He placed his hands on his face and rocked back and forth, flashbacking to those terrifying moments.

Ludwig just stood there sadly watching his lover's brother in such a state whilst Feliciano attempted to comfort him. A worried expression grew on his face. The glimmering of his green eyes he had before had changed drastically.

"Come on, let's get you moving. It's not good to stay in one place." Ludwig spoke calmly.

Lovino lifted his head up to fix a glare on the blue eyes staring at him anxiously and the colour drained from his face.

"Why did you bring him here?" Lovino spat at his brother, as Ludwig's expression changed to a hint of anger.

"That was unneeded, I'm trying to help you."

"Don't give me that bullshit, German. It's true I don't trust you and-Lovino's sentence was cut short by Ludwig grabbing him forcefully by the shirt and pinning him against the wall, making him groan in pain,

"I'm sorry for this, but we're trying to help. Please cooperate with me."

"Put me down, stupid German."

"My name isn't German, it's Ludwig." Ludwig snarled, stepping an inch forward into losing his temper.

"Stop you two, please." Feliciano cried out, panicky.

"I don't trust him, don't forget that a German killed our Grandfather, the German betrayed him."

Feliciano clutched at his stomach at that remark. There's no way Ludwig could be the same as the person who killed his Grandfather, since he is so sweet and gentle.

"I just don't want you two to bicker." Feliciano said, digging his nails into his palm and fixing his eyes on the floor as the tears patted down. "Even if it was a German I don't care, he is the only one for me."

Ludwig couldn't help but smile at his words, his eyes softened a little and the pressure of the anger that clamped on his shoulders lifted off. He put Lovino down gently and put his arms around his love, easing him a little. The sweet scent of Ludwig calmed Feliciano down and he pulled tighter into the hug, gripping at the back of his shirt.

"It's ok, I'm sorry." Ludwig whispered.

"I still don't trust you with my brother." Lovino interrupted, folding his arms and looking away.

"Fine then, don't." Ludwig growled "I will always protect him."

* * *

Lovino focused on the eyes of the German, the glistening of his happy eyes told him that Ludwig was telling the whole truth. His lips twitched a small smiled, seeing them so ecstatic together, especially seeing Feliciano so happy with this man made him realise that his brother had grown up and who was he to take that away from him?

"Ok, shall we go then?" Lovino asked, pulling another smile.

Lovino didn't want support from the other two, claiming he was able to walk, but he seemed to be limping a little and a pained expression hit his face. He tried his best to convince them that he was fine.

"Hey, what are you-" Lovino gasped in surprised, as he was being lifted off the floor by the strong German.  
"We can't have you walking on that limp." Feliciano commented, winking at his brother.

"Yeah, yeah, thanks." The older Italian huffed and crossed his arms.

"Hey, how did you both escape from where you were anyway?"

"It was American soldiers who captured me and Lovino, I'm not sure who found the tent, but we had outstanding luck. The Prussian army invaded their base and snuck us out."

"They wanted us to be on the Prussian side, but I declined and escaped their barracks." Lovino butted in.

"I'm so glad that they did." Feliciano grinned, which warmed up Ludwig's heart.

* * *

They reached a crowd in the middle of the bases, they were all soldiers cheering and celebrating. Ludwig sadly stared at them, his brother should be there in the crowds, waiting with his annoying grin he does. The very thought of that just ripped him to pieces. He bottled up the feelings ever since it happened and it all sank in, missing his brother so much. But at least they found Lovino alive.

He cuddled up to Feliciano, hoping to gain some comfort from him to make him feel at ease about the whole situation. Lovino jumped as Feliciano put his arm around him and Ludwig and began to sing with joy. Ludwig stared at the cute Italian singing his heart out and how good it sounded. The German nuzzled at Feliciano's cheek, playfully, making him giggle

"Get a room you two." Lovino teased.

They both chuckled at Lovino's remark and then their lips met, filling their hearts with pure joy. Finally, this war was over, they could finally spend time with each other in peace.

"Hey Lovino, have you got anyone you love at the moment?" Ludwig chuckled.

"Hmph, no." He answered almost immediately, a small blush appeared on his face.

"That's just like you lot. I'm so glad I found you, we were so worried." A voice shouted out from behind them, they turned to see Antonio and Kiku. Antonio had a bandaged leg and Kiku's uniform was soaked with blood.

"It's so good to see you two again!" Feliciano exclaimed, launching himself inbetween the two, slinging his arms around them.

"Are you two ok?" Ludwig asked, concerned.

"Yeah, just some bullet wounds." Antonio replied. "We were lucky to get that, most of our men didn't make it." He fixed his eyes on the floor, as Kiku deeply sighed and gritted his teeth.

* * *

They began to catch up and telling each other their stories on how they escaped and battled with the enemy.

"I finally found you lot!" A familiar voice rang. There was Alfred, Arthur and Matthew with wide grins on their faces.

"The war is finally ending." Alfred cheered.

"It's good to see everyone happy." Matthew smiled.

"It's all thanks to us and the brave men who stood and fight." Arthur stated, proudly.

"I suggest it's a good time to get drunk." Feliciano said, winking at Ludwig.

"Definitely." Ludwig agreed, putting his arm around Feliciano's waist, pulling him closer.

"Right chaps. I'll bid you farewell. It was a pleasure working with you all." Arthur waved and saluted. As Alfred followed behind, waving.

"You too." They shouted.

"I better get going too." Matthew said.

"Thank you for saving me and say the same to them." Feliciano happily said, shaking Matthew's hand.

"It was the right thing to do."

Matthew marched back and gave a salute to them, running off himself.

"I'll see you."

* * *

The deafening sound of the rotor blades appeared, as the helicopters landed, ready to take them back to their own countries. They marched onto them, as Feliciano's memories flashed through his mind about the first time he came here with Ludwig. He sat in the helicopter, humming happily to himself.

On the journey back home, Feliciano could not help his eyes staring over at Ludwig and smiling, imaging the fun things they would do together once they are back. The helicopter ride was amazingly shorter than Feliciano remembered it, maybe it was because of the anxiety which seemed to slowed the time. The first thing that Feliciano did was grip onto his lover's hand and he returned the gesture with a smile.

"I suppose you'll be going back to your own country soon." Feliciano looked down, sadness hitting him.

Feliciano heard a small sigh coming from the German standing before him, he just knew it. He didn't dare to raise his head and look him in the eyes to stare at the hurt within his love's eyes.

"It's not like I have anything waiting for me in Germany anymore." Ludwig sadly said, his voice almost shattering with the emotional strain.

"I'm sorry..." Feliciano apologised, pulling Ludwig into a comforting hug.

"Don't be, I'll come with you back to Italy." Ludwig whispered into his ear, sending a tingle down Feliciano's spine, brightening up his hazel eyes.

"Really?!" He squealed, louder than intended. His face brightened as the German nodded, not caring about the noises he made. He was so proud of his love.

Kiku and Antonio came up to them, wondering about what was going on with the duo.

"Ludwig just said he would move in with me." Feliciano happily blurted out. Ludwig felt his whole face burn up, as he coughed and looked away.

"That's great!" Antonio cheered, smiling.

"Yeah, I wish for the best." Kiku said, a small smile pulled on the corner of his lips.

"Thank you!" Feliciano said excitedly, clinging onto Antonio and Kiku and pulling them into a hug.

Ludwig was too caught up in his thoughts to say anything, he really wished that the secret of his relationship was kept between the two of them. The burning feeling faded away and he swallowed his embarrassment, Feliciano giggled at him and they joked around, trying to forget about everything that happened. The deep chuckle of Ludwig resonated through Feliciano's chest, filling it with warmth, making him smile.

Even though Feliciano and those around him detested that war that killed innocent lives forced to partake in fighting for their countries. He and Ludwig's bond had become much more stronger, proving that nothing could break them apart.

_War is unneeded and creates an illusion of peace, but in actual fact all it creates is more hatred, violence and fear and that repeats on itself. Can't we just stop being consumed by greed and power?_Ludwig sighed at his own thoughts, he knew that as a person he could not do anything about those soldiers at war. But all his terrifying thoughts disappeared as soon as he saw his lover's grinning face in his vision.

"What's up, Feli?"

"Are you alright? You drifted off."

"Yes, I'm fine, just thinking, that's all." Ludwig pulled Feliciano into an embrace, keeping him close to himself. Feliciano's heart jumped , but he loved it, sighing with happiness on the bed.

_We will always be together, even in war and through the tough times the world throws at us..._


End file.
